Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rewriting the Future
by amithegreat25
Summary: Yusei Fudo is whisked back in time to a place that he knows well: the Satellite, soon after Kalin was arrested and the Enforcers disbanded. Now he is forced to live his life over again, but Yusei has never been one to take things lying down- he intends to change the future, and for the better. Will he succeed in his quest, or will he irrevocably damage his timeline?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: amithegreat25 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

* * *

Chapter One

_Knock, knock._

Yusei Fudo looked up at the front door of the place he, Jack, and Crow were renting from Zora, startled by the noise. He glanced at the clock confusedly—it was 1:32 AM. Who would be knocking on the door at this time of morning? Granted, _he_ was up—but he was working, and he didn't know anyone else who stayed up so late. Getting to his feet and stretching, he slowly walked up the stairway to the door, the echoes of his footsteps on the stone steps unnaturally loud. As he approached the door, he reached out and turned the knob, opening the door to the unexpected visitor. "Hello?"

Then, everything went white.

* * *

"Ohh…" Yusei groaned as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. His bed seemed a lot more uncomfortable than it usually was… He'd have to ask Jack and Crow if they'd done anything to it; it hardly felt like the soft sheets and mattress that he'd grown accustomed to—instead, it seemed cold and hard, as though he had merely been sleeping on a sheet placed over the floor.

_A sheet placed over the floor?_ Yusei sat bolt upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. That sounded—and felt—a lot like his bed in the Satellite, back before any of that Dark Signer or Meklord Emperor nonsense had begun—and, of course, before the Daedalus Bridge had been completed—when his sleeping quarters were little more than a pile of rags on the ground. He looked around, carefully surveying his surroundings, his survival instincts he'd developed back in the Satellite kicking in. It was remarkable how naturally the impulses came to him—even after six months of not having to use them, Yusei now found himself as alert as he was back in the day, with the Enforcers.

But as he looked over his surroundings, he found himself even more confused: Forget any passing resemblance to his home in the Satellite; this place was nigh _identical_, right down to that small Turbo Warrior action figure given to him by Rally in the corner and that thick blue textbook describing the schematics of Duel Runners on the desk—it was as if someone had placed him in a perfect replica of his old Satellite hideout.

Yusei frowned. Either this was some crazy, bizarre dream—unlikely, as dreams usually made perfect sense to the dreamer, whereas this dream made no sense to him at all—or something was up. Yusei hoped beyond hope that it was the first scenario—hadn't he gone through enough trouble as it was?—but he knew deep inside that the chances of that were slim to none. So what did that leave him with?

Well, there was no point in sitting around and thinking the whole time; if Yusei Fudo ever was anything, he was a man of action, and even though his senses were acute and his observation skills at their peak, he found himself at his best when on the move. So Yusei stretched himself and stood up, walking toward the thin laundry sheets hanging from the clothesline that functioned as both his clothes dryer and his door—only to be bowled over by a red blur.

The red blur crashed to the floor along with Yusei, who immediately recovered from the assault and swung himself upright—but then—

"Sorry, Yusei!" the blur blurted sheepishly, rubbing its head, a silly grin on its face—a grin that Yusei knew very well, along with everything else about this figure—one who he could've sworn was taller than this, and whose voice was _definitely_ deeper. "I guess I just was too excited," the person continued energetically, "but you can't blame me—I mean—I was—"

"Rally?" interrupted Yusei disbelievingly, looking at the red-haired boy as though he was just seeing him for the first time. And in a way, he was: Rally was short, _too_ short, and his voice, while as bright and energetic as usual, was too high-pitched, almost as if this was a younger Rally that stood grinning before Yusei—a Rally that should have grown up long ago.

"—anyways, like I was saying—Blitz and Nervin are really excited too—but Tank is a bit worried—but everyone told him to calm down and have some fun, but personally I just can't wait—when are you gonna test it, Yusei, when?" Rally continued sputtering, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Huh?" Yusei's face was the picture of confusion. "When am I gonna test what?"

Rally stopped jumping, his excited expression replaced by a look of perplexity. "What do you mean, 'what'?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips, his oversized sleeves bending where his wrists were. "Your Duel Runner, of course!"

"My Duel Runner?" Yusei questioned curiously. "But why would I need to test that…?"

"Huh?" Rally asked in bewilderment. "What are you talking about, Yusei? You need to test it to see if it works, of course! I mean, you just finished building it, so obviously you should test it!"

"I just finished building it?" Yusei blinked. This was a scene that was all too familiar—a scene that had occurred a long time ago. He slowly knelt down until he was at eye level with Rally, looking the red-haired child squarely in the eyes. "Rally—I need to know something—what's today's date?"

Rally blinked, and Yusei could tell that he thought this was just a test. "Uh… well, I don't know the exact _day_…" he said slowly, "because, well, we're in the Satellite, and they don't exactly keep track of the calendar around here, but… I know the year!"

Yusei sighed. Oh, well, that would have to do. "All right, then, Rally, tell me: What's the year?"

"Uh… hold on—lemme think." Rally assumed a child-like posture, one Yusei hadn't seen for so long he nearly burst out laughing—his left arm holding his right elbow, with his right index finger tapping his chin. "Oh, yeah! It's 20XX!"

Yusei frowned. _20XX…_ Now that was a new piece of info. If his mental calendar was still accurate, then that was the year when Kalin had been captured… when he had started building his first Duel Runner… the one that Jack stole… But that was inconceivable. How could he have gone into the past?

Well, it was either that or some weirdo had gone to the trouble of trapping him in some mental illusion, utilizing his own memories to torment him, and neither option seemed very probable to Yusei. However, if the latter was the case, he had to prevent himself from getting close to any of these illusions—of course, that might be difficult, given that they were highly realistic illusions—but he still had no idea if that was true. If the former was the case, on the other hand—if he had indeed been warped into the past—Yusei's heart skipped a beat. There had been so many tragedies the first time around—tragedies that he had had no way of preventing, because he just hadn't _known_ about them, so he knew that he shouldn't have felt guilty about those incidents—they could not have been prevented—not by him, anyway.

But now, he would have an opportunity to rectify those mistakes, because he now had foreknowledge of what would pass in the future—or was it the present?—and could make decisions based on that knowledge, which would grant him a huge advantage over the Dark Signers—after all, how frequently did people get second chances, chances to do things over again?

Actually, Yusei surmised, there was actually no way of knowing, because there was no way of detecting if someone was from the future or not—in fact, for all he knew, there could be dozens of people being whisked away to the past to do things over every second, and no one besides themselves would ever know. But since that possibility was intractable and hence irrelevant, Yusei tossed it into the back of his head. Of course, mistakes that had occurred in the even further past—for example, Yusei knew that Kalin had already been captured, because he hadn't started building his Duel Runner the first time around until afterward—could not be changed, but he could make the best of things and try to fix those mistakes before it became too late—break Kalin out, for example, before the Dark Signers got to him.

Yusei briefly wondered of deities—such as the Crimson Dragon, or Exodia—could sense changes in time, and thus know if someone had been thrown back in the timeline, but he quickly shook that thought out of his head as well—as with his earlier theory, it was simply conjecture, and unprovable conjecture at that—and so practically speaking it was useless.

Not to mention, of course, that he didn't even know if his theory that he had traveled back in time was true.

But he also knew that no matter what the reality of his situation was, he had no choice but to act anyways—and hadn't he himself thought, before Rally entered, that he was a man of action? He decided then—he would act as though everything was normal—and he would proceed forward from here, fixing all of his mistakes along the way. Things _had_ worked themselves out in the end last time, he knew, but at the cost of so much suffering and lives… If there was any time to begin again, erase all of that suffering, Yusei knew it had to be now… right after he'd miraculously been given a clean slate to start all over with.

"Uh, Yusei?" Rally waved a hand in front of Yusei's face. "Earth to Yusei! Are you there?"

"What's taking so long?" Blitz peered in, looking at Yusei curiously. "Hey, Yusei! Are you ready to do the test?"

Yusei blinked, snapping out of his reverie. "Uh, yeah. I'm ready." He looked down at himself, seeing that he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and his usual black sleeveless shirt with a red symbol in the center. "Just let me get dressed real quick."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Rally started jumping up and down again. "Guys! I talked to Jack yesterday, and I told him that he was welcome to come watch the test if he wanted! He said no, but… I'll go ask him again now, see if he changed his mind!"

_Jack!_ Yusei gave a start. Of course! How could he have forgotten… The day of the test was the day that Jack had kidnapped Rally and took Yusei's Runner and his Stardust Dragon! He knew that he couldn't let Rally go talk to Jack.

"Jack?" Blitz frowned. "You asked him? I never liked that guy… He always seemed too much like the 'lone wolf' type, if you know what I mean."

"Well, yeah, but…" Rally hesitated. "He and Yusei used to be such good friends! Friends don't just stop being friends, just like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis. "I figured that if Jack came to watch Yusei ride the new Runner, we could snap him out of it, and have Yusei and him make up!"

"You know, Rally," Yusei cut in as he pulled on his pants and then his boots, "that's a good idea. But I think that Jack is little unstable right now. He's… lonely, right now. And that could make him dangerous." After he finished zipping up his pants, his starting putting on his trademark blue jacket. "While I do think it would be a good idea if Jack came to see the test, I think that I should be the one to go talk to him." _This way,_ he thought, _Jack can't abduct Rally and use him to force me to give him Stardust. And maybe, just maybe… he can be the first of my mistakes that I'll fix._

Rally blinked. "Uh, okay."

"All right." Yusei stood up, fully dressed. "Rally, Blitz, follow me." He strode out of his makeshift room and out into the "living room" of his little hiding spot, where Nervin and Tank were waiting.

"Hey, Yus'," Tank greeted him jovially. "So when do we start?"

"Just as soon as I get something done," Yusei answered. "I need to go and talk to Jack."

"Jack?" Tank said skeptically. "I dunno, Yusei… You and Jack haven't exactly been on good terms, lately…"

"Yeah, that's right!" agreed Nervin. "Are you sure you want him to come?"

"Jack is Jack," Yusei answered evenly. "He's always been the most ambitious one out of all of us. And quite frankly, I can't blame him. After all, remember our own dream." He took out his most treasured card, Stardust, and placed it gently on the half-broken table at the center of the room. "Our dream is the same as everyone else's dream: We want to make our lives better. It's not through any fault of our own that we were born into Satellite—and Jack's been the one who's always known that fact best. None of the residents of Satellite deserve to live like this—not us, not Jack, not anyone. Jack always wanted something more, and although that need was temporarily curbed by him being part of the Enforcers, now that Kalin's been taken away, it's back, and stronger than ever. And now that we've been able to connect to New Domino City's channels and watch Turbo Duels, his life has finally been put into perspective… and he wants out of Satellite. And in fact, that's the same thing we all want." He tapped the Stardust Dragon card on the table. "The difference is, we've got hope—and Stardust is what symbolizes that for us—Stardust and that Duel Runner of ours. Jack's got nothing like that—all he's got is resentment for the hand he's been dealt in life, and with nothing else to do, he's taking that resentment out on us. And I don't know about you," he continued, his voice rising, "but Jack is still my friend, and I'm going to reach out to him in any way I can!"

This bold proclamation was followed by several moments of silence. Rally was the first to react. "That's right!" he yelled enthusiastically. "We're going to help Jack get through this in any way we can!"

"Well said, Yusei, Rally," smiled Nervin, clapping softly. "I never really thought about it that way… but you've opened my eyes to Jack's point of view."

"That's right," drawled Blitz, smirking at Yusei. "And that's why Yusei here'll definitely be the one to find a way out of this hellhole. He's one of a kind, I tell ya. We're lucky to have him here."

"I suppose that does make sense," Tank agreed reluctantly. Then he scowled. "But I still don't like Jack's attitude toward us—like he's all superior or something—"

Yusei put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Jack is dealing with the situation the only way he knows how," he said. "It's up to us to show him that there _is_ another way to cope." _Another way for things to play out, too,_ he thought inwardly. _A better way._

He picked Stardust up off of the table, handing it to Rally, who looked at the white-blue dragon with awe. "Rally, I need to look after this for me while I go talk to Jack, okay?" After receiving the red-haired boy's solemn nod, he stretched his arms. "Well, I'm off to look for Jack now. You guys stay here, okay?"

"You've got it!" shouted Rally eagerly, eyes shining with admiration for his hero. "We'll wait for you forever if that's what it takes, Yusei!"

Genuinely touched, Yusei gave everyone present a warm smile before turning around and jumping onto the abandoned rails that served as the entrance for their little hideaway. His first instinct was to use his Duel Runner… but something held him back. Maybe it was the fact that it didn't seem right to ride it just yet, without Jack present. Or perhaps he subconsciously realized that seeing Yusei riding a brand-new, shiny Runner was hardly going to open Jack up to what Yusei wanted to say. Whatever the reason, Yusei took one last look at the glinting white Duel Runner that he still remembered first having constructed… and took off across the railroad tracks, running toward the future.

* * *

"Jack."

The blonde man turned around and scowled, recognizing the voice of the new arrival. "Yusei."

"I thought I'd find you here." Yusei's voice was calm, steady. He'd had the advantage of knowing exactly where to look, of course, having been told by Rally after he'd rescued him, but it probably wouldn't have been the best idea to reveal that to Jack. "You always did like high places… so you can look over everything, as if you're watching over it, right?" They were currently standing on top of a huge building facing the ocean, which was raging this particularly day—perfect weather to put a little kid in, Yusei thought, to force his friend to come and rescue him.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, his own voice cold and hostile—the complete opposite of Yusei's.

"Rally told me what happened." Yusei took a step forward. "You want to change your mind?"

"Not particularly." There was no telling what was going on in the blonde man's head; his violet eyes were completely unreadable.

"Jack," Yusei pressed. "Are you sure? It could be just like old times… you could have fun again, see all of your old friends: Rally, Blitz, Nervin—"

"I don't want to see them, okay?!" Jack whipped around, all of sudden breathing heavily. "I don't want it to be like old times again! Those days are over, Yusei!"

Yusei just looked at him, calmly, silently, waiting for him to make another move.

"It's over…" As he breathed this, Jack seemed to calm down again. "All of it's over…"

Yusei wanted so badly to tell him that he knew how Jack felt, because he _did_ know, and that everything could still work out, because he had found a way to make it work—a way for everyone to get what they wanted—for Jack to become King, for the denizens of the Satellite to get a better life, and for everything to get better—but to do that right now would result in more complications, ones that he didn't fancy having to deal with. He laughed inwardly, remembering how simple it was back then, back when their only worries were getting out of the Satellite and getting a better life—nothing to do with the Dark Signers whatsoever. And Yusei intended to keep it that way—but it wouldn't work if he didn't keep control of himself and not blurt out his plans whenever he felt like it. Instead, he said, "What do you want, Jack? Ever since Kalin left, you've grown distant from the rest of us. Is there something that you feel is missing from our life? Something that you want back?" _That's right,_ he thought, _don't push him, let him do the talking, let him wear himself out…_

"I don't want something _back_," snarled Jack. "I want something _more_!"

Sensing that the barrier Jack had built was breaking down, Yusei allowed himself some inner satisfaction. Jack never was the best at distancing himself… "More?" he asked, feigning ignorance. "What do you mean, 'more'?"

Sighing, Jack turned his back on Yusei again, watching the ocean move. "I don't belong here, Yusei," he admitted, almost more to himself than to his visitor.

"What are you talking about? That's completely wrong," Yusei said. "You belong here, all right, because that's where your friends are! You belong with us!"

"No!" Jack snapped, turning around again, seemingly conflicted about something—something that Yusei already knew about, and understood, completely. "That's not what I mean! Friends used to be enough…" His voice grew softer, and Yusei had to strain to hear. "Being with you, Crow, and Kalin… defeating all the Duel Gangs… making Satellite a better place… It made me think anything was possible—that we were making a difference!" His voice grew in volume again, reaching an apex as Jack's frustration grew and became apparent. "But Kalin went off the deep end and got himself captured, and then the rest of the group—you, me, Crow—just broke apart—disintegrated! It got me thinking, Yusei!"

"Thinking about what, Jack?" Yusei asked softly.

Jack growled. "Don't you _get_ it yet, Yusei?! All of those dreams that we had—of making Satellite a better place, of being its noble protectors—they're exactly that: nothing but dreams! It's like a wolf howling at the moon—no matter how hard he howls, he'll never reach it, because it's just too far away! No matter how good we are," he yelled, "we can't make a difference, because we're too small, and the world is too big! But you know what, Yusei?" His breathing grew heavy, ragged, irregular. "Even if we're not good enough to make a difference—and mark my words, we _never_ will be—we're still really good!"

"Exactly," agreed Yusei. "So what's the problem? We're really good already, Jack… We _can_ get good enough to make a difference, and if you'd just come watch me—I can show you how—"

"No, Yusei!" Jack seemed frustrated at the crab-haired man's lack of understanding. "You're wrong! But that's not the point, anyways!" He swept his hand to point at the ocean—not not _at_ the ocean, _across_ the ocean—across the roiling waters at the distant silhouette of New Domino City. Yusei noticed Goodwin's old Daedalus Bridge reaching dismally across the water, and then abruptly ending—just like Jack's philosophy, he realized: Starting with unending hopes and ambitions and then beginning on a journey, going well, making progress—and suddenly crashing and burning, only to realize that the hope was simply too much, too unrealistic, too _idealistic_ to achieve.

"My _point_ is," Jack continued, "that we're really good! And I mean _really_ good! A _lot_ better than those chumps in New Domino City! That first Duel I saw with that pathetic 'King' of theirs—I spotted about seven mistakes he made in the first two rounds! And that's the problem, Yusei!" He clenched his hands into fists. "If _we're_ so good, if _we're_ so much better than those New Domino City pampered brats and businessmen—then why the hell were _we_ born into the slums of Satellite with nothing, while _they_ got everything?!"

"Maybe it's _because_ we were born here that we're so good," Yusei said quietly. "Have you ever considered that, Jack? Have you ever considered that the people of Satellite are _forced_ to be good, because it's not just a matter of pride to them, like it is to the people of New Domino—it's a matter of life and death? That your strength, your pride, your roots, _come_ from the Satellite? That your life in the Satellite is the reason you're so good—why all of us are?"

Jack sighed. "I _have_ considered that, Yusei," he said. "And don't get me wrong, I _am_ thankful because of it. But I've grown up, Yusei. We all have. You, Crow, me—we're not those little kids that Martha used to take care of anymore. I'm nearly seventeen, and you and Crow are both sixteen—we're nearly full-grown adults! It's time for us to spread our wings and fly!" Then, the frown on his face briefly became a smirk. "Actually, that's probably something Crow would say." His face turned solemn again. "But there's only one place to fly to. And that's New Domino City. Do you see why I can't come watch your silly little games now, Yusei?" He swept is arm back to point at New Domino City once more. "I have more important things to deal with! _I_ deserve to be King—not some chump who grew up sheltered from the world by his rich, namby-pamby parents!"

"Jack…" whispered Yusei, unsure of what to say. Now would have been a good time to reveal his plan, he thought ruefully, but then he would have to explain how he had known about Lazar's supposedly secret visit with Jack, and that would plant the seed of suspicion that _Yusei_ had sent him, not Goodwin—and that was not something that Yusei wanted to happen.

Fortunately, he was spared from having to answer when, in a flash of impulsivity, Jack started talking. "And Yusei… Don't think that my efforts have all been for nothing. I _have_ found a way out of Satellite and to New Domino. But I need something of yours."

"Oh?" Yusei asked, his eyes narrowing. _Here it comes…_

"I need your Stardust Dragon and that Duel Runner of yours. I'm asking nicely, Yusei. One friend to another. I _need_ them, Yusei. They're my only hope for getting out of Satellite and into the city. And I'll strike you a deal." Jack's voice was earnest and sincere. "I know it's a big thing to ask of you, but I promise this: If you agree, I'll tell you how I plan to get there. And then, with your skills, I _know_ you can cobble up another Duel Runner, and then _you'll_ be able to get to the city, too—and then, I'll give you Stardust back—and then you can use it to help all of your friends, like I know you want to. Deal?"

Yusei frowned. Jack hadn't taken such a diplomatic approach last time… What had changed this time? Was it the fact that he didn't have an easy hostage? Or was something truly different from last time around? But then, how was that possible? If it was truly a case of time travel, shouldn't everything have been exactly the same? Unless it wasn't time travel, and it really was all just some mental illusion… But what if Jack really hadn't wanted to use Rally, but hadn't seen another way? What if, since Yusei himself had showed up this time, he felt that asking was the best option after all?

If worst came to worst, Yusei supposed that he could just give Jack Stardust. After all, Jack _had_ promised to give it back once Yusei built another Duel Runner—and Jack Atlas was many things, not least of which were an insensitive jerk, a prick, and a loudmouth—but he wasn't a liar. But doing so would put Jack under Goodwin's thumb again, and heavens knew that his ego had had enough stroking back when he was part of the Enforcers. He could attempt to negotiate with Jack, giving him the Duel Runner but not Stardust—but Yusei knew that Stardust Dragon was part of Jack's deal with Lazar, and Jack would not back down on that. He could outright refuse, of course—but that could prompt Jack to attempt to win Stardust and the Duel Runner by force, and while Yusei was confident he could protect his gang and possessions from the blonde, violet-eyed Duelist, that was a road he didn't want their relationship to take. Or, he could suggest his alternate plan—but that, again, would lead to complications, especially how he had known about Lazar. Better to play it safe and let Jack do the elaborating than the other way around—_then_ he could reveal his plan, having an excuse for knowing about Lazar.

Mind set, Yusei continued to prod. "I'm not sure I like where this is going. I know you always you keep your word, Jack, but this sounds a bit shadowy to me. All of a sudden, you found a way to get out of Satellite all by yourself? And I can understand needing a Runner to do it, but Stardust Dragon? That doesn't seem like it would be particularly helpful on your escapade, unless you promised it to someone else as payment for your escape plan… I'm sorry, Jack, but I need more details before I go agreeing to anything. If you won't give me details, then the deal is off."

Jack's eyes widened. How had Yusei figured it out so quickly? Had he been that transparent? His eyes hardened. If Yusei wouldn't give the card and Runner to him willingly, he could always Duel the crab-haired teen for them, but he wasn't confident that he could win. Yusei had always been just a step above him on the ladder, Dueling-wise. Sure, he had scored some victories against the crab-haired Duelist, including that time when he had been able to lecture Yusei on the importance of Dueling with heart—now _that_ had been fun—but the vast majority of their Duels usually end in a victory for Yusei, and Jack wasn't confident enough in his win-loss ratio against Yusei to bet his future on it. At this point, the truth really was seeming like the best option.

"Well," he began, "I was visited, you see."

"Visited?" Yusei's brilliant sapphire eyes, normally so warm and trusting, seemed cold and shrewd.

"Not by anyone bad," Jack assured him quickly. He paused, debating whether not to continue. He decided that there was no harm in telling Yusei more, and so he resumed speaking. "I was visited by this clown-like fellow; called himself Lazar, really weird guy. Anyway, he said he was Goodwin's right hand man, and said that he knew I wanted to be King, and that he knew a way for me to get to the top—and he said that I needed a Duel Runner to do it, as well as two particular cards: Stardust Dragon…and Red Dragon Archfiend."

"I see." Yusei's expression was unreadable. "Continue."

"Continue?" Jack blinked. "Continue what? That's there is to it!" What was Yusei playing at?

"Well," Yusei said, "surely he didn't just tell you _what_ you needed, did he?"

"Huh?" Jack asked, not understanding.

"Well, if he just told you that you needed a Duel Runner and those two Dragon cards," Yusei spoke slowly, "and nothing else, that wouldn't really be much help, now would it? I mean, what? You're just supposed to take the Duel Runner and cards and go… where? At the top of the tallest building in Satellite? In the western portion of the sewer networks? Or is there some secret passageway that you're supposed to ride through?"

"Yusei!" Jack snapped, his anger back in full force. "I can't tell you that! That's part of our deal, remember? I'll tell you how I'm doing it _after_ you give me your card and Duel Runner!"

"I see." Yusei's voice was emotionless. "Well, Jack, I'm sorry I couldn't be of more use to you, then. As far as I'm concerned, there is no deal."

"What?" Jack yelled in frustration. "Yusei! You can't just—you can't just say 'no'! What happened to our friendship, huh?! What happened to the times when you could trust me?!"

"I do trust you, Jack," Yusei said.

"Well, then, give me your—"

"But," Yusei continued, interrupting Jack, "the problem is, I still need my Duel Runner and Stardust Dragon card."

"What could _you_ possibly need them for?" Jack ground out impatiently.

"You're not my only friend, Jack," Yusei answered evenly. "Stardust is a symbol of hope for _all_ of my friends—so life can be better for them someday. And my Runner—my Runner is vehicle that will bring those hopes about."

"Didn't you hear me earlier?!" Jack roared, looking ready to pounce on Yusei. "You _can't_ make any hopes come about in Satellite! The only one whose hopes can come true is _me_!"

"Jack," Yusei said, "I know that you've always had huge ambitions. And I know that the way you see it, getting to New Domino City is the beginning of greatness for you. And you are my friend, Jack, believe me. If I could give you my Runner and Stardust, I would. But I can't do that just yet. I need to help all my friends. But… you don't need to tell me how you intend to get to New Domino City. Truth be told, I've been working on a way to get there as well. But whereas your way involves striking deals with Goodwin's lackeys… I'm going to get there all by myself, with no help from anyone from New Domino, least of all Goodwin. And I'm not just going to be going for myself, either. When I go… it'll be for all of my friends in the Satellite."

"What?" growled Jack. "You're planning on going, too? And you didn't tell me?!"

"I was going to tell you, Jack," Yusei replied evenly. "In fact, that's why I came to meet you in person, instead of sending Rally. I was planning to tell you after you agreed to come watch. I was even going to ask you to come with me What I didn't count on… was you striking a deal with this 'Lazar' person."

"I had no choice!" defended Jack, but Yusei could tell that his resolve was cracking. "It was the only way out!"

Yusei held out a hand. "It doesn't have to be, Jack. Come with me."

"Yeah, well… How can I come with you, anyways? Your Duel Runner isn't built for two, and even as skilled as you are, I doubt you can put together another one so quickly!"

"You underestimate me, Jack. I'll bet you my entire Deck minus Stardust that I can build another one within the month."

"Yusei…!"

Yusei smiled. "You're grasping at straws, Jack. My way is better and you know it. Besides… this way, you'll actually have my help, whereas if you decide to go with this 'Lazar', I won't help you by giving you Stardust."

Jack's face tightened and relaxed in quick succession. "…Fine!" he spoke through gritted teeth. "But say I were to agree to come with you. What's the catch? There's always a catch!"

"Jack," said Yusei, genuinely hurt this time. "I'm not Lazar. How could you have forgotten? I don't force you into unfair deals. I'm sincerely asking you to come with me! There is no catch! All you have to do is wait while I build the Duel Runner, and we'll be good to go!"

"That's not good enough, Yusei!" Jack cried out, punching the door of a nearby storage closet on the building's roof. "'Just you and me' isn't how you work! You said it yourself: You have other friends to tend to! Why would you leave them behind?! That's not what you do!" _Something's definitely up,_ he thought to himself. _But what?_

"I'm going for them, too," answered Yusei. "When I get there, I plan to make a deal with Goodwin. One that he won't be able to go back on."

"Oh, really?" Jack laughed bitterly. "And what makes you think he'll listen to _you_?"

Yusei frowned. He had to pretend that he didn't know about Jack's birthmark… but he couldn't use his own as proof because it hadn't showed up yet at that point in time. He braced himself. This next sentence required the utmost strategy… A single wrong utterance could turn Jack against him again.

"I've got some dirt on him." Not entirely untrue, he thought to himself. After all, he was the only one who knew Goodwin's true identity and goals. And besides, he'd never said that he'd _use_ the information when striking the deal—still, Yusei knew that he was banking on technicalities to convince himself that he wasn't lying to his friends—and even though he knew that it was for the best, it sickened him to be doing this; it made him feel like Goodwin: conniving and manipulative. Was changing the future really worth it?

Jack looked skeptical. "Oh, really? What sort of dirt—and more importantly, how did someone from the Satellite get their hands on it?"

Yusei winced inwardly, unhappy about being forced to lie—misdirect, he reminded himself, misdirect, not lie—even more. "The truth is, Jack," he began carefully, "I wasn't born in Satellite. I was born in New Domino."

Jack's purple eyes widened even more, his expression morphing into pure shock. "Y-you…?"

"Yes," Yusei continued. "And my dad… he was pretty high up in the security chain. Truth is, my dad knew Goodwin personally." He was making it sound like his father had worked under Goodwin, when in reality Goodwin had actually worked as his lab assistant. "Both my parents were killed in Zero Reverse… but Martha… She told me what happened. It turns out that my dad knew something about Goodwin—" He hesitated. "I can't really say any more. But let me just say this: Goodwin was _not_ an only child."

"You…" Jack continued to stare at him. "That's not possible!"

Yusei sighed. "You just want to believe that it isn't possible, Jack. You're in denial. And frankly, I can't blame you after such a huge revelation. But reality doesn't work that way… Believe me, Jack, even though I was originally born in New Domino, I grew up with you and Crow… and nothing's going to change that."

"No…" Jack whispered hoarsely. "You _can't_ be… Someone from New Domino City _can't_ be in the Satellite!"

"Yes, he can, Jack." Yusei took a step toward his friend. "And the proof of it… is right here." He spread his arms.

"You…!" Jack shook his head wildly. "All this time…? You've never told any of us _anything_? I grew up with a citizen of _New Domino City_… without ever _knowing_ it?!"

"I didn't find out myself until recently, Jack!" shouted Yusei, which was true; he hadn't known about his heritage until Goodwin had told him during the Dark Signer incident. "Believe me, if I had known before, I would have told you! But what I want to know is this: How does that change anything between us, Jack?! Maybe I _was_ born in New Domino, and maybe I _did_ end up here because of Zero Reverse… but that doesn't change the fact that I grew up in the Satellite, or the fact that you're my friend! And I'm offering you a way out of the Satellite!"

"Why should I trust you?!" Jack shot back.

Yusei shook his head. This was not going at all the way he envisioned it. "You have no reason not to trust me, Jack! I've _never_ betrayed you, and I never will! Goodwin, on the other hand—have you ever stopped to consider why a man like him would ever reach out to someone from the Satellite like you? Did you really think it's because you're _really good_?! Wrong! Goodwin doesn't make deals, Jack, not with people below him—he manipulates and connives! You have to trust _someone_ in your life, Jack, or you'll just be a friendless loner—and now the only question is who you're going to trust: Me, and the rest of your friends, who've stuck with you through thick and thin, or this 'Lazar' person sent by Goodwin, who you never even met until yesterday!"

Jack grasped his head, letting out a scream of frustration, clearly recognizing that the crab-haired man was right, but refusing to admit it. "I can't help it, Yusei! Goodwin and his cronies… they're the only ones with power in this corrupt system! They're the ones who can get me to the top… and who can do it effortlessly!"

"Come on, Jack," Yusei yelled, "you've always said that you deserve to be King! Does the King let others do his work for him? Does the King rise to the top because of some deal he made? If you deserve to be King so much, Jack—then prove it! Prove it by getting out of the Satellite the hard way—with no help from anyone but your friends! Look at me! _I_ found a way out of Satellite, and I'm planning on going—with or without you, but I didn't have to be approached by Goodwin to do it! And I'm asking you to come with me—it's that simple!"

"That's not good enough, Yusei!" Jack bellowed, expression pained. "I want—no, I _need_ out, Yusei! Can't you understand?! I don't belong here anymore! Maybe in the past, but—"

"Why in the past, Jack?!" Yusei returned heatedly. "Maybe you're so far gone that you don't remember, but in that case, _I'll_ remind you: You used to think you belonged because you had hope! Remember Kalin and the Enforcers?! The four of us had a dream, a hope, something to work for, to strive toward—I didn't hear you complaining back then!"

"Yes, we had a hope!" Jack snapped. "A hope that got crushed when Kalin got taken! Everything I said earlier still holds: Hope isn't enough! The only way you can get power"—he looked down at his hands, which were rough and dirty, toughened from years of abuse in the Satellite—"is by making a deal with power!"

"That's not true, Jack!"

"Yes, it _is_!"

"No, and you know why? Because even if your hopes are dashed, even if your dream is crushed—you can rise up and keep going! That's the difference between you and me and Crow—when Kalin got captured, every one of us felt the same thing! Despair! The difference is that Crow and I got up and slowly started building up hope again, while you sank down into the depths of self-pity! But now, Jack, I can tell you this, and I'm not kidding: Our hopes are very close to fruition, because I _have_ found a way out of the Satellite—and I can go alone, right now, but I don't want to! I want _you_ to come with me!"

Jack opened his mouth to retort, then closed it. "…Why me, Yusei? Why do you still believe in me? I'm… broken, a shell of the person I used to be…"

"That's exactly why!" Yusei answered, hoping that he was finally getting through to the stubborn, violet-eyed man. "You're broken because you've given up hope—and I want you to come, so that I can show you first-hand what hope can do! I want to show you first-hand that as long as you have hope, you don't need to make deals with power, you can get wherever you want—and I want to show you that by taking you to New Domino City with me! Why can't you understand that we—me, Rally, Blitz, Nervin, Tank, and Crow—just want to help you?!"

Jack's voice cracked. "I… I don't deserve your help, Yusei."

Yusei opened his mouth to answer, but the blonde-haired man continued without acknowledging him.

"The truth is, Yusei… I've always been jealous of you."

Yusei's reply died in his throat, which suddenly felt constricted and dry. Jack was… jealous of him? But why would he be?

"Out of you, me, and Crow," Jack continued, "you've always been the good one—the natural leader, while I was the loner—the light to my darkness. Somehow, along with being a good Duelist like the rest of us, you also got everyone else to look up to you—a gift that I suppose Crow also has, to an extent"—he remembered the ginger-haired teen's so-called "family" of little children—"but the thing is, that sort of thing is something I've never been able to pull off. Heck, even Kalin looked to you for advice sometimes; when he went too far overboard and realized it—you were the brain then, the balancer—the one everyone expected to be able to salvage the situation." He laughed bitterly. "And they were always right, too."

"Jack—" Yusei began, but then he stopped, realizing for the first time in their conversation that he had no idea what to say.

"It got me thinking." Jack's eyes were fixed on an invisible spot on the ground—or roof, depending on your perspective—unmoving, unwavering. "_That's_ why I really wanted to leave. Sure, I really did think that hope was useless, and I really was sick of the Satellite, but the main reason was—I didn't—no, I couldn't—bear to see you with so many friends, while I had none. I couldn't understand how anyone could be so—so—_satisfied_ in the Satellite, like you were, but I guess that's just another difference between us." He laughed again, though there was no humor in the sound. "You see the good in everyone and everything—no matter what the situation is, you refuse to give up, while I"—he clenched his fists—"I just see the worst. That's why I wanted to get away, ride into the city, because I wanted a place where I could actually be considered the _best_, and not just second-best, always behind you, Yusei. It hurt when I first admitted to myself, and to a degree, it still does, but I've come to realize that it's true, Yusei. You're better than I am. And i-if what you're saying is true, then go for it, Yusei. Take my blessing. Head off into the city. Who knows, maybe someday I'll get my head straight and come after you. I have no idea what's gotten into me"—he chuckled—"but maybe it's just the first time I've been thinking clearly in months. Go, Yusei. Go to New Domino. You're the one that deserves it—not me."

"That's not true, Jack!" Yusei suddenly found his voice again, and he panicked—his talk with Jack was supposed to _motivate_ the other person, not break him down so hard that he gave up altogether! "You deserve every bit as much as I do—because you're my friend, Jack, and—in my eyes, at least—that makes you every bit as worthy as you seem to think I am. I said earlier that I could go alone, without you—but really, that was just a bluff, Jack—I'm not taking no for an answer! If I have to knock you out and ride my Runner to the city with you hanging over my shoulder, I'll do it! I don't care what you say, Jack—I'm not giving up on you!"

Jack's eyes looked at once hopeful and dejected. "Stop it, Yusei. You're lucky that my mind is so clear right now—otherwise, I would probably have tried to attack you and take Stardust and that Runner of yours by force, already. But stop trying to tempt me, Yusei, because my resolve isn't as strong as yours… and I can't hold out for much longer if you keep on talking to me this way."

"I'm not trying to tempt you." Yusei's voice was calm and steady. "But the truth is this: You're coming with me to New Domino City, and I don't care what you say!"

"Damn it, Yusei!" A _crack!_ reverberated through the air as Jack's fist hit the stone floor. "Do you see the problem?! _This_ is the problem! Even now, you hold on to that friendship of ours—you just can't let things go! This is exactly what I mean when I say you're better than me! Listen, Yusei: If you really, truly value our friendship, if you really want to do me one final favor—then prove me wrong! You kept on saying it over and over earlier: I was wrong, I'm just as worthy as you, you're not better than me—well, then, prove it! Prove it by getting on that Duel Runner of yours and riding into the city—without me! Then I'll finally have satisfaction that you really _aren't_ any better than me!"

Yusei's eyes widened. _Are these the sort of thoughts t__hat Jack has been hiding this whole time?_ "Jack—I don't need to prove it! You've proved it yourself already!"

Jack looked up in surprise. "I've… proved it? When?"

"When you kept on insisting that I go without you—and how you didn't have as strong a resolve as I did, and that I should go before you gave in to temptation—didn't it occur to you that you were resisting temptation that whole time? And the whole thing about me going on without you—that's selflessness, one of the leadership qualities that you keep on saying you're so jealous of me for having! You've already proved yourself wrong—but not by lowering _me_ to what _you_ think is _your_ level, but by _rising_ to _my_ level! If you want to be proved wrong so badly—there you go! So now, I'm going to ask you again, Jack: _Are you coming with me?_"

"Yusei…" Jack whispered, his expression flickering first to shock, then anger, and finally… gratitude. "You really mean it, don't you?"

"I've meant it from the very beginning, Jack." Yusei fixed his friend with a clear stare. "It was you who refused to acknowledge it."

Jack's face slowly morphed into a slight smile—the closest he was ever going to come to a full-out grin. "…Well, Yusei, I did say that I couldn't resist temptation for long, and I wasn't lying; my resolve has just been shattered. You win. No more deals with Goodwin or his lackeys for me! So now that you've convinced me, Yusei, let's hear this plan of yours—and it'd better be good!"

Yusei smiled. He had succeeded with Jack—no longer would his best friend be forced to live his life under the watchful eye of Rex Goodwin, and he would slowly continue building Jack up—until the idea of betraying one's friends was as unthinkable to the blonde-haired man as it was to the rest of them. If this was an omen of things to come, then perhaps he truly did stand a chance of changing the future for the better. Motioning for Jack to come closer, he leaned in and whispered, "Well…"

* * *

"Amazing." Jack leaned back, his eyes twinkling. He and Yusei were now seated on the roof, both gazing calmly out at the ocean, which had slowly calmed down over the course of Yusei's explanation. "I finally feel as though there's hope again—as if we _can_ make a difference. The last time I felt this feeling was back with the Enforcers—with Kalin."

"There always was hope, Jack," replied Yusei, smiling at his friend—a friend who had never betrayed him, who as far as anyone else knew was still just plain old Jack Atlas, member of the Enforcers and friend of Yusei and Crow. _And I plan to keep it that way._ "You just didn't see it until now."

"But… still." Jack laughed out loud, not an empty, bitter laugh like before, but a full, deep laugh, filled with spirit and energy. It was really remarkable, Yusei thought, how much unnoticed tension had been hiding in the blonde's thin frame before—but now that it was gone, the difference was marked and altogether stunning. "After Kalin's capture… I didn't think it was possible for me to feel hope again. But now… we're going to do something better than Kalin ever dreamed—we're going to unite Satellite and New Domino City!"

Yusei nodded. "That's right, Jack, we _are_ going to do more than Kalin ever dared to dream of—but I hope you realize that we're not surpassing his dream, Jack, we're just extending it. Kalin was the first one who taught us to hope and to dream, and we owe a lot to him for that."

"But…" The violet eyes narrowed. "If we owe so much to him… it doesn't feel right, just sitting here, talking about him. I mean, I know he's been taken by Security, but… it feels like we're dishonoring him, somehow—just by talking about him."

"That's understandable," answered Yusei, who was inwardly feeling the same way. "While we may strive to push his dream forward, it's not like Kalin's dead—he's still alive, but just locked away in the Facility. It doesn't feel right to talk about him as though he's passed away, and we're just carrying on his legacy… right?"

"Yeah, that's exactly right. It feels…"

Yusei abruptly stood back up. "That's why we're _not_ going to just sit around talking about him, Jack." _If we leave Kalin in the Facility… __he'll eventually be approached by the Dark Signers… and I'm _not_ going to let that happen._ "We're going to bust him out." He had intended to bring this up after the test run, but now was as good a time as any, especially since Jack had brought up the topic.

Jack stood up as well, eyeing the crab-haired man curiously. "Really, now?"

"Yes, we are." Yusei's tone left no room for debate. And in fact, he had already formed the beginnings of a plan…

* * *

Yusei Fudo has found himself whisked into the past after a midnight visit by an unknown person. Although he does not recall the encounter, he has figured out enough to know that he must take action. Now that he has successfully convinced Jack to forget his deal with Lazar, and with a strategic plan already prepared, all that's left for the two to do is to put the plan into action: building a second Duel Runner, informing the rest of their friends about the plan, and of course, breaking Kalin out of the Facility. Unfortunately, things like that are always easier said than done… Will Yusei's plan to change to future succeed? Or will he find out the hard way exactly why meddling with time is dangerous? Find out next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rewriting the Future!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: amithegreat25 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

* * *

Chapter Two

Yusei Fudo woke up, groaning. He sat up, taking in his surroundings in a split second, almost instantly remembering where he was. He blinked. Well, that was interesting; his reactions were definitely getting quicker again as he was forced to deal with the unexpected nearly every day in the Satellite, and he was getting used to waking up in his old bed, as well—if one could even call that pile of rags a bed. In a way, it felt… refreshing, as if anything was possible the second time around.

The past few months had been relatively uneventful; sure, there was the occasional encounter with some thugs and about a week ago Rally's Turbo Booster card had been stolen—Yusei had dealt with the thief swiftly and decisively—but all of that was just usual fare in the Satellite, and with Jack by his side most of time, really, aside from the first day Yusei woke up here, there was really nothing particularly difficult. He'd slowly gathered the required materials needed for a Duel Runner from the scrap heaps, and he'd done his best to make sure that the finished result would resemble the red Runner that he had had in the future—that one seemed to reflect his personality better than the white one, which he planned on giving to Jack just as in the past—the difference being that this time, Jack would have Yusei's consent.

After several straight nights of work, the red Runner was finally finished, and Yusei was fairly satisfied with the overall result—it could nearly pass as his old Runner from the future. (This was one major difficulty of being in the past—none of the verb or adjective tenses made sense anymore—_old_ Runner from the _future_?)

Yusei had taken a well-deserved rest after that, but now he was fully awake, and he found that his stomach seemed rather cramped today, and he felt as though he was confined in an abnormally small space. These symptoms were normal, he knew, because he was nervous about today. Why was he nervous? Because the only thing that had been delaying Kalin's rescue mission was the fact that he didn't have a working Duel Runner yet—actually, as far as Jack knew, Yusei _did_ have a Duel Runner and _he_ didn't, but since Yusei was planning on giving the white Runner to Jack, he considered it building a working Runner for himself. But—now that Yusei's familiar red Runner was completed, that automatically meant that the mission would commence, and although Yusei had drilled both himself and Jack on the plan so thoroughly that they could complete each other's sentences when talking about it, he knew from experience that complications could and would arise. It wasn't everyday that you broke into the Facility to help your captured leader and friend, after all.

Yusei would have preferred to have Crow with them as well, but that point the orange-haired man hadn't met Robert Pearson yet, and as such didn't have a Duel Runner either—and not only would it have taken too much time for Yusei to construct one for his ginger-haired friend as well as himself, he inwardly felt that the Blackbird suited Crow too well to be replaced by one of his creations, even if Crow hadn't exactly obtained it yet. When the fellow member of the Enforcers found out, he of course had insisted that he come, but luckily Yusei had been able to talk him out of it—the orange-haired teen was surprisingly easier to convince than Jack, even though they had quarreled so much with each other in the future. Even so, Yusei would have felt better having his friend by his side.

If worst came to worst, the three of them—himself, Jack, and Kalin—could always Duel their way out; Yusei had no doubt that they were much more skilled than any officers that happened to present, and in fact he had built another Deck from spare cards for Kalin specifically for this purpose—but this solution was sloppy and would doubtlessly create a whole host of new problems for them to deal with, not least of which would be the fact that they would instantly find themselves on the news and on the run—and although that could be fun, Yusei supposed, it would completely wreck his plan to fix things by preventing him from safely contacting Goodwin. No, the best way was to get in and out, unseen.

And now, today was the day. Those were plenty of reasons to feel nervous—it was human nature, and Yusei wasn't ashamed. But he couldn't help but wish he was more relaxed today: Heavens knew he needed it.

These were the thoughts that were running through Yusei's mind as he dressed himself, preparing for the mission. Finally pulling his trademark dark blue jacket on, he strode out of his "room".

Jack, Rally, and the others were waiting for him… and unexpectedly, so was Crow. "Hey, Yusei!" Rally chirped brightly.

"Hey, yourself," answered Yusei, but his gaze was fixed on Crow, mildly surprised. "Why are you here, Crow? Don't you have kids to take care of?"

"Eh, I left them with Martha for a while," Crow replied disinterestedly. "Even if I can't come with you guys, I figured I wouldn't be much a friend if I didn't come see you guys off, especially if you're going on a rescue mission for _another_ one of my friends, right? The kids can take care of themselves for a few hours."

"Pshht," snorted Jack. "Admit it, Crow—you're just jealous you don't get to come with us, because you don't have a nice new shiny Duel Runner."

"What was that?!" Crow shouted. "Say that again to my face!"

"I just did!"

Nervin sighed. "They sure do get along well, don't they?"

"Yeah," agreed Blitz irritably. "You'd think they'd at least shut up at an important moment like this, but _nooo_, it's nonstop arguing with those two."

Yusei, however, simply watched the supercilious duo (more so Jack than Crow), fascinated by their antics. They looked so similar to their future selves that the resemblance was uncanny.

"Yeah, well—you wouldn't even _have_ a Duel Runner if Yusei here hadn't built one for you!"

"At least he _did_ build one for me—now _you_, on the other hand—"

"What exactly are you implying…?!"

"I'm _implying_ that I'm better than you, and that's why Yusei wanted to take _me_ on this mission, and not you!"

"Oh, yeah? I bet I'd do just as good as you on this mission if I came, and maybe even better!"

"Too bad you're not coming, so we'll never get to find out, eh?"

"Why, you…!"

"All right, all right!" Yusei interrupted. As entertaining to watch as Jack and Crow may have been, they were on a schedule, and they couldn't afford to waste more time than necessary. "Jack, Crow, you can continue this argument later, but we have business to do!"

"That's right, Crow!" Jack sneered. "Stop wasting the grown-ups' time!"

Crow bristled. "Hey, you were a part of it too, you know!"

Yusei sighed. "Anyway, Jack. I didn't tell you this before, but… you know that Runner you thought I was building for you? Actually, it's for—"

"I knew it!" Crow interrupted. "It's for me!"

"No, Crow," Yusei corrected, "it's for me."

Jack let out a snort of laughter before immediately stopping. "Wait, what? But you already have a Duel Runner… why would you need two?"

Yusei shook his head. "The white Runner, Jack… that one's for you. I think it suits you better."

"Huh?" Jack blinked in confusion.

The rest of the room looked equally confused, until Rally broke the silence. "Yeah!" he chimed enthusiastically. "White is completely your color, Jack; it looks really good on you—just look at what you're wearing!"

Jack looked down at his signature white jacket, which flared out impressively behind him. "I—I suppose you're right!" He smirked, striking a pose. "Not only does Jack Atlas Duel like a King, he also _looks_ like a King!"

"Uh…" Nervin tried, completely dumbfounded.

"Anyway," Yusei cut in, "we need to leave soon, and I'm going to ask one more time: Before we go, Jack, there's still time to back out, but I need to know _now_, so I can modify the planning accordingly. After we arrive at the Facility, Jack, there's no turning back. Do you understand?"

"As if I'd be scared!" retorted Jack boldly. "Don't you think for a second that I'm gonna abandon you, Yusei!"

"I don't know, Jack," snickered Crow, "this sort of mission is probably much harder than anything you've ever done."

"What was that?"

"That's enough!" said Yusei sharply. "Don't forget: It's Kalin we're talking about. If we fail… it's him that's at stake."

This stark reminder caused an immediate shift in mood from casual to solemn. Rally's face turned grim, Nervin fidgeted uncomfortably, and the rest of those present—excluding Yusei—looked unusually determined.

"Right," said Yusei. "Remember the plan, Jack."

"I know." Jack nodded.

"Exactly." Yusei turned to the others. "You guys might not be coming with us, but remember: You have a very important task nonetheless. Prepare for our arrival. When we get out… we'll be relying on you to provide the escape means, and although I'm leaving the method up to you, you need to keep in mind these two things: First, once we get out, we'll have no idea where to meet up with you if you just choose a random rendezvous point, and second, in order to avoid any hassles with Sector Security later on, Jack and I are immediately going to begin our journey to the city, so we must be provided with our Duel Runners. I'll give you a few minutes to think over those two requirements and come up with a doable escape plan, but remember: Time is of the essence. Don't rush when thinking of the plan, but… just work quickly, okay?"

"Um, Yusei?" Rally raised his hand, causing Yusei to have to suppress a chuckle. "I have a question. Why didn't you tell us this sooner, so we could plan better?"

"Yeah, that's right." Tank scowled at him. "You should have asked us about this earlier."

Yusei sighed. "You know, you're probably right: I should have. But I didn't want you guys worrying so much. Tank, Nervin, Blitz—you guys have had to deal with trouble at work nearly every day. Rally—you've already been doing everything you could to help out. I couldn't bear putting more burden on your shoulders. That's why I chose to bring this up only now. If I was completely honest with myself, that's shouldn't have mattered—I should have told you anyway. But I'm not that kind of person, and I never will be, and I don't regret that. In any case, though, what's done is done, and every second spent wishing things had gone differently is a second wasted. Our main focus is Kalin, remember."

His friends and Crow nodded before huddling around the table, whispering frenziedly.

Yusei took this opportunity to speak to Jack alone. "Jack. Remember our conversation a few months ago. I know how you feel. Just remember, no matter how tempting Goodwin's deals may sound in the future—there will always be a catch. I don't mean this as an insult, but you've always been the proudest of all of us. There is a chance that you may—"

"Don't worry, Yusei," returned Jack dismissively. "I know my faults, and I won't let Goodwin play me for a fool like he almost did last time."

Yusei nodded, giving him a surreptitious thumbs up. "Good."

A few minutes later, the huddled group around the table disbanded. Crow stepped forward, apparently as the speaker for the group. "All right," he announced. "You say that that you can get roughly anywhere within three to five kilometers of the Facility in an hour, assuming normal Security traffic, right?"

"Right," Yusei confirmed, "but just to be safe, we should always assume the worst-case-scenario, with heavy traffic and possibly the discovery of Kalin's absence. In that case, our our location must be narrowed down to an area two to three kilometers from the Facility."

Crow frowned. "That's not good enough," he muttered. "Not to mention that the smaller the area of search is, the more likelihood we'll have of being found—and if that were to happen, it wouldn't just be you, Jack, and Kalin in trouble—it'd be all of us. Hold on… lemme think."

"Wait!" Rally cried out suddenly. "I have an idea! Security officers usually search closer to the perimeter of the area, because they think that suspects usually flee as far as they can as quickly as they can, right?"

"Right," said Yusei, frowning, "but I don't see how that—" He abruptly stopped speaking as Rally's idea made itself apparent to him. "I see! That means that—"

"It _means_ that it would be better for you to pick a location to meet that's actually _closer_ to the Facility," finished Jack. "Because Sector Security will also think worst-case-scenario for them, which is actually best-case-scenario for us, they'll expand their search far and wide, while we'll be hiding somewhere close to the Facility where they'll be less likely to look! That could work!"

"The problem I see with that idea," Blitz said, scowling, "is that if they _don't_ realize Kalin's gone and scatter their forces all over the place to look for him, they'll still be concentrated back at base, which means that assuming_ wors__t_-case-scenario for you, you'll be better off _near_ the Facility, but if it's the _best_-case-scenario, you'll actually be better further off. The problem is, there's no way to tell what will happen, so—"

"I agree," interrupted Yusei, suddenly smiling. "The problem for you, is that there's no way to tell how things are going on _our_ end, and so we have no idea where to meet up with you because there can be no exchange of information about which location would be best for the particular situation we find ourselves in."

"Right," answered Crow.

"Well, think about _this_," Yusei continued. "In order to determine where to meet, it's always best to plan on the spot—so then you can adapt your plan to various situations—but the difficult part with that is that if you have no way of informing the other party of your decisions, it won't work—planning a rendezvous point is a cooperative task, and if you don't have both parties present making the decisions, you're stuck. That, in turn, sounds to me like a _communication_ difficulty, doesn't it?"

"Communication?" Nervin asked. "What do you mean?"

"Communication is defined as the exchange of information between one party and another," Yusei explained. "If we can't exchange information, we can't plan together. So really, all of this hassle can be _avoided_… just by implementing an effective way for us to communicate."

"Well, that's easier said than done," scowled Crow. "How are we going to communicate when you guys will have just broken out of the Facility?"

"The same way we'll be getting Kalin's Deck back," Yusei answered. "Through the security vault, where they store everything from confiscated Decks from suspects… to standard-issue handheld transceivers for officers. And you know what the good thing about transceivers is? They're easily tapped. And luck has it that I know just the frequency Sector Security communicates on. All you have to do… is connect to it using that laptop of mine." He pointed to a beaten-looking laptop resting on a nearby desk.

"But if you try to talk to us on the radio, wouldn't that mean that security officers could hear you as well?" asked Tank skeptically.

"That's right," Yusei replied. "Which is why we won't be aiming for anything _too_ complex. We'll still have some predetermined destinations—just two, instead of one. Now, listen closely, because this is important: We'll be escaping at roughly 11:30 PM tonight, which gives Jack and me around half an hour to get to the meeting location and then through the sewage pipeline and to the city. So slightly before 11:30 PM tonight, I want you to turn on my computer and tune to the frequency that I give you. Under the best-case-scenario, you won't hear anything, because I won't risk breaking our cover by attempting to talk to you over the radio. If the worst-case-scenario, on the other hand, you'll hear me say this: 'An unnamed suspect has been spotted on a Duel Runner in the south-western district of the Satellite. Requesting backup.' That will be your cue to meet us at the location determined for the worst-case-scenario, and if we're lucky, it may divert some attention from us, because even though the Facility is near the center of the Satellite, the south-western district is still the furthest from it."

"That's a great idea, Yusei!" exclaimed Crow, visibly amazed by Yusei's quick thinking. "We can always count on you to come up with the best ideas!"

"I told you, everyone!" Rally shouted. "Yusei is the best!"

Even Jack looked grudgingly impressed. "I suppose that was some pretty good planning on your part, Yusei."

"Thanks, everyone," Yusei replied. "And now, all that's left… is to determine the two meeting places: best-case and worst-case."

"That's easy!" Blitz cut in. "While you guys were busy chattering, I thought of two places that seemed good! The Facility is in the middle of Satellite, and if the best-case-scenario we'll want to meet up at someplace far, right? How about Martha's place in the eastern district? She'll be plenty willing to hide Kalin for us, and she's not that far from here, so we'll be able to get your Runners there easily!"

"That sounds good to me," Yusei confirmed.

"And in the worst-case-scenario," Blitz went on, "how about that scrap heap to the south of the Facility? You know, the one where you always get your stuff, Yus'? The mounds of trash ought to hide you pretty well, and you might even pick up a few cards or engine parts or something!"

"Again, that sounds fine," Yusei answered. He looked around the rest of the room. "Is everyone fine with these locations?"

He was met with five resounding, "Yes!"s.

"Well, it's settled, then," concluded Yusei. "The frequency is 462.5875 MHz." He waited as Blitz quickly reached for a piece of paper and scribbled down the numbers before turning to Jack. "Well, Jack. You ready?"

"The King is always ready!" Jack shouted in reply. "I'm gonna be in and out of that Facility in no time at all! And if anyone gets in my way, I'll stomp them flat!"

Yusei smiled. "Good to hear. We'll leave our Duel Runners here; we don't need them to get to the Facility, and if we take them there, they'll just be confiscated. You guys'll take good care of them, right?" he shot at the remaining group.

"Completely!" yelled Rally.

"Mm." Yusei looked at Jack. "All right, then. Let's go, Jack."

And together the sprinted out of railroad tunnel that was Yusei's home, out into the exposed streets of the Satellite—two members of the original four Enforcers, a group that had been shattered when Kalin had been arrested—but one that was about to be rebuilt once more—one member at a time.

* * *

Night had fallen, which was essential. After getting close to the Facility, he and Jack had stopped a distance away from the building and waited until it started to get dark, after which they had split up to separately tackle the Facility's southern and northern exits. Now Yusei was focused on one thing and one thing only: The single guard monitoring the outside gates.

He slowly approached the unsuspecting guard, taking care to remain out of the guard's peripheral vision. Back against one of the Facility's many walls, he edged toward the uniformed man at an agonizingly slow rate. It was crucial to the plan that this particular task be accomplished, but unfortunately, it was also the part of the plan that was most reliant on luck.

Suddenly, as if to illustrate this point, the guard stiffened before whipping around to stare some two meters to the left of Yusei's hiding spot; nevertheless, Yusei instinctively shrank into the shadows to minimize his chances of being seen. As the guard squinted closely at the spot before turning around again, Yusei briefly wondered if Jack was having any success, but he immediately quashed the thought. Now was the time to be worrying about himself, not others—and besides, he was nearly certain that Jack was fine—an arrogant prick the blonde-haired man may have been, but he knew how to handle himself.

The Facility really ought to have better security, though, he thought. Only one guard for the outside gates… there wouldn't even be anyone to sound the alarm if that one guard got jumped. There were most likely security cameras as well, but Yusei knew from his last trip there that they all pointed inwards in order to keep a firm eye on the prisoners that would try to escape… not a single thought was devoted to keeping intruders out.

Almost as if to prove Yusei's point, the guard yawned and seemed to notice a nonexistent speck of dirt on his shoe. As the man bent down the scrub the boot, Yusei took the opportunity to scoot considerably closer to him. By the time the officer stood up again, Yusei was almost close enough to sprint over and grab him… but that would have been sloppy.

Instead, Yusei waited. Then, just as his target began to relax, the crab-haired adolescent took a small pebble out of his pocket and knocked it hard against the Facility's concrete wall. The result was a small but audible _ping!_ Meanwhile, with his other hand, Yusei pulled out a small, dirty-looking handkerchief.

The guard stiffened, and Yusei was again surprised, this time by the guard's poor reaction time rather than the Facility's sloppily constructed security layout. Heck, even Rally could have reacted faster than that!

But that was irrelevant—in fact, it only made Yusei's job easier—as the guard slowly stomped over to where he thought the sound had issued from, the trajectory brought him within a meter of Yusei's location—and it was then that the blue-jacketed Duelist made his move: He leapt forward, grabbing the guard and pressing the hand with the handkerchief to the man's mouth. As the guard tried to breathe in, the fumes from the small piece of fabric trailed up his nostrils… and his eyes rolled upwards before closing slowly, his body slackening—the piece of cloth had been dipped into some homemade chloroform Yusei had synthesized using household chemicals, such as bleach and acetone.

Although he felt a small thrill of satisfaction at completing the first step of his plan, and by extension getting that much closer to his friend, Yusei didn't allow his expression to change; he received no joy from having to do this sort of thing—furtive, illicit—it went completely against his philosophy… He remembered actually having legitimate living quarters at Zora's place, and the ease and relaxation that came with it—not having to hide for fear of being arrested—it was a wonderfully liberating feeling, so much so that Yusei had allowed himself to forget his hardships in the Satellite, but now… now he was reminded of why exactly time travel—he still had no idea whether or not that theory was correct, but it was the most optimistic one, so he was sticking with it—could be a bad thing: He had been dumped right back into his old life, the one full of desperate living conditions and scrabbles every day, just to survive on the streets. There was no doubt about it; Satellite was tough before it got connected to New Domino, and especially when you were attempting something on a scale as massive as this—and even though Yusei had dispatched the guard without too much hassle, the act sickened him, revolted him—and yet as he constantly reminded himself, this was necessary.

Necessary. Yusei shuddered. That had sounded too much like what he had been telling himself lately—the lying, the misdirection—all to hide the fact that he was from the future—all necessary for what he planned to do. And it was true, he knew, but that didn't mean he had to like it—it reminded him too much of Goodwin and his convoluted scheming.

He pushed the thoughts out of his mind—now was not the time to be having doubts. Besides, it wasn't as if the man was permanently injured: Yusei had been careful to apply a nonlethal amount of the chemical; there would be no real harm done—just a small, twenty-four hour nap. Shaking his head in an effort to clear it, the crab-haired hero pulled the unconscious man into the shadows with him.

From there, he removed the man's guard uniform and laid the stiff, dark-blue garments down besides their owner, who was now completely undressed apart from his boxers. He then proceeded to undress himself as well, after which he pulled on the man's clothes—effectively disguising him as a security officer for the Facility. Yusei was tempted to smirk—this would not have worked nearly as well had he still had his criminal marker—but the time travel had done a pretty good job of removing any scars and damages he'd acquired since Jack had left, his Signer birthmark and criminal marker included.

He then pulled his clothes over the comatose officer's head with some difficulty; the officer was considerably more bulky than himself, and Yusei had trouble pulling his thin blue jacket onto the man's well-muscled arms. He felt a pang; that jacket was his signature, but he'd most likely have to leave it behind. He only hoped that anyone who happened to find the man wouldn't look too closely at what he was wearing.

Completely dressed in the guard's clothing, hat included, Yusei strode toward the Facility's gate confidently. He reached into the right-hand-side pocket of his new trousers; inside was a small device with the Public Security Bureau's insignia engraved on it—this was the remote with which he could open or close the Facility's doors. Yusei was momentarily tempted to use it, but he decided that it would be much more prudent to simply wait out his shift—that is, the shift of the guard he had knocked out.

Five minutes passed… then ten… then twenty. Nothing happened. Another twenty minutes passed… then twenty more. An hour. Still nothing. Yusei permitted himself a small yawn, though inwardly he was nothing but tired. He checked his—the guard's—watch, which read 10:28. He frowned. That left him a mere hour to rescue Kalin. He had first approached the gate at around nine, which meant that one-and-a-half hours had elapsed since he'd come here—that was more wasted time than he could afford.

How long were the shifts, anyway? Two hours? Three? He really had no idea. Yusei grimaced, noticing for the first time a hole in his plan—he'd assumed that if he simply took over the existing guard's shift and waited, he would be admitted into building in due time—but really, he hadn't the slightest clue exactly _how long_ the shifts lasted—for all he knew, there could simply be a day shift and a night shift, in which case he would _definitely_ not be able to stand out here for the entire shift. Yusei's frown deepened. _Damn_. He would wait twenty more minutes, he told himself. An hour and forty minutes to rescue his friend. After that, if still nothing happened, he would use the remote.

Yusei drummed his fingers against his thighs, absentmindedly allowing his thoughts to drift to other things… the WRGP, Bruno, Akiza, Leo, Luna… he thought of Kalin in Crash Town, and speculated about how the silver-haired man was doing there—then he laughed at himself. Kalin hadn't gone there yet—he was right here in the Facility from which they were trying to rescue him…

As his thoughts drifted back to the Facility and the rescue operation, Yusei briefly wondered if Jack was faring any better than he was—probably not. The shifts were almost certainly the same throughout the entire Facility, so if Yusei's shift hadn't ended yet, odds were that neither had Jack's.

Yusei frowned as a thought suddenly struck him. Jack was never the patient type… What if he had decided that waiting outside was wasting time, and decided to barge in decisively? Jack's words from earlier that morning echoed back to him: _"__I'm __gonna be in and out of that Facility __in no time __at all__! __And if anyone gets in my way, I'll stomp them flat!__"_ At the time, he had dismissed it as a joke, a way to raise morale—but, knowing Jack, the blonde-haired man would have no qualms about carrying out his bold claim… and if he did, and handled the situation rashly, the results could be disastrous.

Yusei checked the watch again. 10:43. If he knew Jack at all, he knew that the violet-eyed Duelist was not at all patient. Waiting for an hour? Unlikely. An hour-and-three-quarters—nearly two hours? It was unheard of. His only consolation was that no alarm had been sounded yet, so perhaps Jack had been more prudent than he had given the man credit for… but given the severe incompetence of the guards, that meant little to nothing. He toyed with the idea of going in right now… after all, he had promised himself he'd open the door in twenty minutes, and really, five minutes wasn't going to make much of a difference if his shift wasn't close to over, anyway. And if Jack really was in, well then, he'd need all the help he could get.

Reluctantly, the crab-haired teen pulled out the remote to open the gate to the Facility, pressing the red button that was squarely in the middle. For a few moments, nothing happened. Then a strange screeching sound started pulsating—Yusei jumped in surprise before realizing that the sound was emanating from the gate, which was slowly unhinging.

The gate came to a stop a full ninety degrees from its original position, allowing Yusei a wide passage to enter. He took a step inwards, then sprinted full on, making his way to the main doors, which were chained together and held by a large padlock. Yusei reached inside his guard's pockets and removed a small ring of keys, any of which could be the one to unlock the padlock. He couldn't afford to test each one individually—there were at least fifteen of them, and every second longer he was out here was a second more time for him to be caught.

He looked at the lock. Rusty, and rather old looking—but after Yusei inspected the bottom of it closely, he found what he was looking for: A small, worn trademark, reading _Master__Lock_. He then looked through the keys, searching for one that had similar wear and tear, and most importantly, the trademark.

No suck luck. Yusei grimaced. It figured that the Facility would use the same kind of lock for seemingly everything: Every single key on the ring had the word _MasterLock_ on it. And every key looked the same as well—rusty, and well-worn. Apparently every lock that these keys happened to open were equally well-used.

Yusei frowned; he was being left with few options. Now there was no choice but to test all the keys, one by one. He inserted the first one… then the second… then the third… all the way to the eighteenth one, after which—wait. That couldn't be right. He had gone through all of them! But the lock still wasn't open.

He had no choice but resort to more… drastic measures. The door was framed underneath an archway, but it didn't reach all the way to the top of the structure, meaning that there was some space that one could pass through if he or she someone got all the way to the top of the gate. Yusei sighed. Time to see if his climbing reflexes were as good as they used to be.

He took several steps away from the gate, and measured how high the archway was. The result was not comforting: The gate was at least five meters tall, and the archway was barely a meter higher than that, meaning that if Yusei did somehow manage to scale the thing, he would have to be careful not to go _too_ high, or he would hit the archway—and the concrete structure didn't look very comfortable as a headrest. Yusei frowned as he mentally analyzed the movements that he would have to make. Well, he had definitely done easier things than this… but he had also done harder.

He braced himself before sprinting forward and taking a running leap, barely catching on to a horizontal bar about halfway up the gate, pushing himself up using the bar as leverage—he was on the bar and there was only a meter or two of climbing left—he took hold of one of the vertical bars of the gate and thrust himself up towards the top of the gate, being careful not to hit the archway—he was nearly there—he was up—he was through the arch—he jumped—

Yusei hit the floor unsteadily, pausing for an instant to regain his balance—but he had made it. He was about to silently congratulate himself, but then—

"_Hey, you! __Yeah, you! What do you think you're doin__g__?!"_

Yusei whipped around to look towards the Facility's main entrance and saw one furious-looking guard heading towards him. His heart sank. This was not good.

* * *

"Hey, boss!"

"How's yer day, boss?"

"It sure is hot in here, ain't it, boss? I betcha your stinkin' employer's sittin' in his chair all fancy-like, with air-conditionin' an' everythin'!"

"I hope they're payin' ya well for babysittin' us, boss, 'cause we're a rowdy bunch!"

Jack Atlas strode through the hallways of the Facility, ignoring all of the prisoners shouting out to him, bellowing insults and innuendos. Lowlifes, every single one of them. The King would not stoop to the level of the mere commoners.

He made a face as he looked down at the guard's uniform that he was currently wearing—it was much too rough and uncomfortable—completely ill-befitting of a King. It had been very useful for getting in, but it would have been much better were he able to wear his signature white coat. The guard hat felt itchy, too. Did that man have lice? But then again, he wasn't here for opulence or lavishness, he reminded himself—he was here for Kalin. And so far, he had no idea where Kalin was.

To Jack, such a problem had an easy solution: Look through every single cell in the Facility. That… wasn't working out that well. The Facility easily had thousands of cells, ranging from ground level all the way to the top, in a structure referred to affectionately by the guards as the "Hive". Jack had quickly found that looking through each and every one was immensely impractical and would not suffice as a good way to get Kalin out.

So what had Jack done? He decided to try to sneak into the server mainframe room, from where he could access prisoner records. The only problem was, he had no idea where the mainframe room was, and so he was now walking around randomly searching for it.

Getting in had been the easy—all he'd had to do was use the keys in the guard's coat pocket in order to unlock the gate—and it had literally taken him all of five minutes. He was sure that Yusei had gotten in just as easily (he had no idea just how wrong he was). But _this_ was infuriating! What kind of bozos built this place, anyhow, and why would they make the mainframe room so hard to find?!

"Hey, boss, I don't think I've seen you before, and I've been here a _long_ time!"

"Maybe he be a new guy!"

"All right, then! Listen up, everybody: This guy's mine!"

"Ya got the last one, Bonzo, remember? What makes ya think yer gettin' this one here?"

The voices piled up in Jack's ears, rattling his eardrums until he couldn't think clearly anymore. Where was the damn mainframe room?!

"SHUT UP!"

His fist slammed into the wall, making a dull _thunk_ and creating a thin layer of cracks branching out from the point of impact. The hallway instantly fell silent.

After a few tense moments, whispers started up.

"Never mind, Bonzo, y'all can have 'im!"

"Damn, that guy's strong! I wouldn't want to get on his bad side!"

"It looks like we've got ourselves another keeper, boys!"

But in the corner of one of the many dank, damp cells on that hallway, by sheer luck, an emaciated man with long, dirty-looking silver-hair raised his head. That voice… he'd heard it before—but he couldn't be sure—that scream had been too loud and vibrational to tell for sure. Who was that guard?

Then he heard the guard's voice again, but softer, more toned down. "Where's the server room? Why's this place gotta be so freakin' large?!"

The silver-haired man leaned forward, hardly daring to believe it. Was it…? Could it be…? There was only one way to find out, if the guard was truly one of his old friends turned traitor, if his old _friend_ had actually come into the employ of the Facility. If it was true, he wondered how the man would have pulled off something like that. But speculation was useless, so the silver-haired man opened his mouth, a feeble sound issuing from it. "…Jack?"

* * *

"What are you doing, Steve?!" The man stomped up to Yusei, gesticulating wildly as he talked. "You're not supposed to go climbing fences! I mean, I knew you were stupid, but why would you go and do something as ridiculously idiotic as _that_?! And how _did_ you climb that fence, anyway? I've never seen you do anything like that—wait a minute—" The man paused, inspecting Yusei's face closely. "You're not Steve!" he yelled, leaping half a meter backwards, pointing excitedly at Yusei. "I know your look—you're one of those Satellite punks! How did you get in here? _What did you do to Steve?!_"

Yusei risked taking a step forward. "I didn't do anything—"

"Shut up!" shrieked the man, eyes fixed on Yusei. "You're on government property, punk! And you know what that means?!" He slowly shifted his stance, removing a pair of handcuffs from his jacket. "It means that I'm authorized to place you under arrest!" He moved forward.

Yusei reacted instantly, leaping backwards whilst reaching into the his guard's pocket for his Deck—he'd removed his Deck from his own pocket and placed it into the guard's pocket when he had switched clothes. As he pulled the stack of cards out, he simultaneously reached into his black-and-red undershirt—he'd never bothered switching that out—and withdrew a small Duel Disk, which he deftly hooked on to his left arm and slotted his Deck into, activating it and causing a five-slot panel to slide out, flashing once.

The officer's eyes narrowed. "Where'd a Satellite punk like you get a Deck?"

"Does it matter?" returned Yusei evenly. "What matters is that I _do_ have one, and that I'm challenging you to a Duel!"

He was rewarded with a terse chuckle. "You've got a point there, trash. So you want a Duel, huh?" He officer held out his left arm, seeming to materialize a Duel Disk on it which instantly activated, a five-slot panel that was identical to Yusei's sliding out. He then withdrew a rather thick Deck from the folds of his jacket, slotting it in and causing the slots to flash.

Yusei and the officer faced each other, their Duel Disks at the ready.

"Let's Duel!" the both cried simultaneously, instantly drawing five cards and placing them into their respective left hands.

**Officer – 8000 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

"Since I'm the challenger," Yusei declared, "I'll be going first! I draw!" He slashed his right hand across the top of his Deck, retrieving a sixth card and uniting it with the five already in his hand. He looked down at the cards and smiled in remembrance of his old Deck. Removing a card from his hand, he made a swiping motion and deposited it onto the Duel Disk's middle Monster Slot. "I Set a monster face down in Defense Mode!"

A horizontal card appeared on the field in front of Yusei, face down.

"Next, I place one card face down in my Spell/Trap Zone and end my turn!"

Another face down card appeared behind the first, this time right side up.

"My turn, then!" the officer cried. "I draw!" He looked down at his hand before grinning. "I Summon out Assault Dog to the field in Attack Mode!"

A growling dog with a green machine-like device appeared on the field.

**Assault Dog – LV 4 / 1200 ATK / 800 DEF**

"Go, Assault Dog!" cried the guard. "Attack that face down monster of his!"

The dog gave a single bark of agreement before leaping forward to crunch its powerful jaws onto Yusei's face down. As it closed in, the face down card flipped face up, revealing a powerful-looking soldier holding a spear and crouching behind huge shield who immediately turned a dark shade of blue, reflecting the fact that he was in Defense Position.

**Shield Warrior – LV 3 / 800 ATK / 1600 DEF**

"Oh, no!" the officer cried out. "That thing has higher Defense Points than my Assault Dog's Attack Points!"

"That's right!" Yusei yelled. "And even though your Assault Dog isn't destroyed thanks to my Warrior being in Defense Mode, you still take damage!"

The dog crashed headfirst into the shield, letting out a yelp of pain and causing a shockwave to spread out from the point of collision. The officer yelled out as the shockwave reached him, whipping his hair and clothes around fiercely—even though the monsters were only holograms, they were still highly realistic and carried with them some simulated power.

**Officer – 7600 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

"Attacking so quickly off the bat is reckless!" Yusei chided. "Don't make a move until you know what the opponent is planning!" This officer was obviously inexperienced, he decided. He would have no problem beating the man.

"Grr…" the man growled, his teeth grinding together unpleasantly. He raised a card high above his head before slamming it onto his Duel Disk with considerable force. "You just got lucky, kid, so don't start feeling cocky! I place a card face down and end my turn!"

A face down card appeared in front of the officer, mirroring Yusei's own.

"Then it's my turn!" Yusei answered. "I draw!" After a short glance at the card he had picked up, he smiled. Just one more card, and then he would have everything he needed to Summon his ace monster. But in the meantime… "I Summon out Speed Warrior in Attack Mode!"

A strange humanoid creature appeared on the field with a what appeared to be roller skates and a helmet reminiscent of that of a scuba diver, letting out a muffled battle cry.

**Speed Warrior – LV 2 / 900 ATK / 400 DEF**

"Hah!" the officer snorted. "That monster's not nearly strong enough to take on my Assault Dog!"

"Take another look, officer!" Yusei retorted, pointing at his Warrior, which suddenly began to glow white as flames engulfed it, its Attack Points shooting up. "Look so weak now?"

**Speed Warrior – LV 2 / 1800 ATK / 400 DEF**

"What?!" cried the officer, stumbling backwards. "Why'd his Attack Points go up?!"

"That's an easy one!" Yusei answered patronizingly. "During the Battle Phase of the turn Speed Warrior is Normal Summoned, his Attack Points double!"

"What?!" the guard repeated. "Th-that can't be!"

"Now, Speed Warrior," Yusei cried, "attack! Destroy that Assault Dog!"

The warrior gave a grunt of acquiescence before roller-skating towards the officer's monster with extreme speed. As it approached, it did a series of quick flips and kicked the dog in the face. The beast let out a small whimper before shattering into thousands of glowing yellow shards and releasing a blast of wind toward its master.

"Aaarrgh!" roared the officer as the wind struck him, propelling him backwards and causing him to lose his balance, landing him smoothly on his rump.

**Officer – 7000 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

Not to be outdone, the man quickly got to his feet growled murderously at Yusei. "Don't think for a second you've gotten the upper hand, Satellite! You just did me a favor! When Assault Dog is destroyed by battle, I can Summon another one straight from my Deck!"

A carbon copy of the original destroyed dog reappeared onto the field, growling every bit as ferociously as its predecessor. The officer smirked at Yusei, obviously believing that he had just done something extremely impressive. "So you're back to square one, kid! And next turn, my Assault Dog is going to be doing some serious mauling!"

**Assault Dog – LV 4 / 1200 ATK / 800 DEF**

"I beg to differ!" replied Yusei, his eyes narrowed. "That overgrown puppy of yours won't be doing any more mauling than its friend did before Speed Warrior destroyed it!"

"Oh, really?" challenged his opponent. "And just why do you think that? You've already attacked with that Warrior of yours, and once the Battle Phase ends, his Attack Points will return to normal, allowing my beast to maul _him_ quite good!"

At that moment, as if to emphasize the guard's point, Speed Warrior's white, flaming aura disappeared and his Attack Points decreased once more, leaving it looking quite unimposing.

**Speed Warrior – LV 2 / 900 ATK / 400 DEF**

"That doesn't matter," Yusei retorted, "because I'm now going to Tribute Speed Warrior to Special Summon _this_: Turret Warrior, in Attack Mode!"

A gigantic stone golem appeared and rose up from the ground, towering over the dog that belonged to the officer.

**Turret Warrior – LV 5 / 1200 ATK / 2000 DEF**

"Before you say anything about Turret Warrior's Attack Points," Yusei continued, "let me tell you about Turret Warrior's effect: When I Special Summon him by Tributing a Warrior-Type monster, that monster's original Attack Points are added to his, so he's about to get a lot stronger!"

As if in response to the crab-haired man's words, the golem's already huge body suddenly glowed and grew even larger, massively dwarfing both Yusei's Shield Warrior and his opponent's Assault Dog.

**Turret Warrior – LV 5 / 2100 ATK / 2000 DEF**

"Unfortunately," Yusei said, "I already entered my Battle Phase this turn, so I can't attack with this big guy just yet, but with those Attack Points of his, you can be sure that he's going to be sticking around to pummel that dog of yours next turn! And now I end my turn with a face down card!"

A second face down card appeared, adjacent to the first.

Yusei looked straight at the man, his cool blue eyes issuing a direct challenge to the man's authority. "It's your move, officer."

The guard bristled at Yusei's attitude, his face contorting—he was clearly infuriated at being talked down to by what he perceived as an inferior kind—and he wasn't about to let this kid get away with it. Allowing his anger to pervade him, the uniformed man grabbed the top card of his Deck and pulled it off violently, so much that his posture shifted as he did it, his feet sliding on the ground. "I draw!" Without even looking at the card that he had drawn, he cried out, "I Tribute my Assault Dog in order to Summon Handcuffs Dragon in Attack Mode!"

A red, flying dragon appeared with a weird, curved face superficially resembling a handcuff. Yusei was strongly reminded of a hammerhead shark.

**Handcuffs Dragon – LV 4 / 1800 ATK / 1800 DEF**

"Now, Handcuffs Dragon," the officer roared, "attack! Tear that Shield Warrior of his to pieces!"

The dragon was only too happy to oblige, flying forward and closing its cuff-like jaws onto Yusei's warrior, crushing it into thousands of yellow shards. The officer leaned back, pleased. "Now that annoying Warrior of yours is gone for good! And I'm going to show you what happens to Satellites who mouth off to law enforcement! I end my turn!"

"You shouldn't let your anger get the better of you like that," Yusei murmured under his breath. "It leads to poor judgments and bad decisions."

"What was that, kid?!"

"Nothing. It's my move. I draw!" Yusei added the drawn card to his hand and smiled. This was it: the very card that he needed to Summon out Stardust Dragon. "I Summon out the Tuner Monster, Junk Synchron, in Attack Mode!"

**Junk Synchron – LV 3 / 1300 ATK / 500 DEF**

"What?" the man yelled, looking stricken. "A Satellite with a Tuner Monster?!"

"Yep! And prepare yourself for more surprises from this _Satellite_ because now, Junk Synchron's effect activates!" Yusei declared. "When Junk Synchron is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower monster from my Graveyard to the field in Defense Position, as long as that monster's effects are then negated! So I'm bringing back Speed Warrior to rejoin the battle!"

The masked humanoid reappeared on the field, looking beaten but ready to battle once more.

**Speed Warrior – LV 2 / 900 ATK / 400 DEF**

"And what use is that?" laughed the officer weakly, trying to calm himself down. "That monster is too weak to take on Handcuffs Dragon!" _And if your Turret Warrior attacks,_ he thought, _then I can use Handcuffs Dragon's effect, __bringing that monster of yours down a notch! __Yeah… no sweat! I can still beat this guy!_

"That's okay," Yusei yelled, "because I'm activating the Spell Card Double Summon, allowing me to Normal Summon once more this turn! And I'll be making good use of that extra Summon by bringing out Nitro Synchron!"

**Nitro Synchron – LV 2 / ATK 300 / DEF 100**

"Next, I Tune my Junk Synchron with my Turret Warrior!" Yusei yelled. "Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"

An enormous shining dragon appeared, its wings twinkling as though they were made of starlight, floating slightly above the field.

**Stardust Dragon – LV 8 / 2500 ATK / 2000 DEF**

"I-Impossible!" cried the man. "That monster! Not only is that monster a Synchro monster—it's the kind of monster that I wouldn't be surprised to see wielded by the King! No lowly Satellite dweller should have a monster like that!"

"Impossible, you say?" Yusei's eyes narrowed. "Well, then explain away _this_! I'm Tuning my Nitro Synchron with my Speed Warrior to Synchro Summon again! Appear, Armory Arm!"

A weird mechanical squid-looking thing with a black body and pink appendages appeared onto the field.

**Armory Arm – LV 4 / 1800 ATK / 1200 DEF**

"You have another one—?" the officer gasped, now clearly panicking.

"That's right!" answered Yusei. "But this one won't be sticking around for long, because I'm activating Armory Arm's effect! Once per turn, I can take Armory Arm and equip it onto another of my monsters! So I'm equipping Armory Arm to Stardust Dragon!"

The machine floated over to the enormous dragon's torso, wrapping its pink appendages around it, causing a bright aura to flare up around both monsters.

"When Armory Arm is equipped to a monster," Yusei continued, "that monster gains 1000 ATK Points!"

The beautiful dragon suddenly roared, as if to emphasize the point.

**Stardust Dragon – LV 8 / 3500 ATK / 2000 DEF**

"N-no!" stuttered the man. "That thing's way stronger than my Handcuffs Dragon!" _Even with my dragon's __effect__,_ he thought, _he'll still be at 1700 ATK—which is stronger than anything I've got other than my biggest monster!_

"Now, Stardust Dragon!" Yusei yelled. "Attack his Handcuffs Dragon with Cosmic Flare!"

The big dragon roared, opening its mouth and forming a ball of energy inside. After several seconds, the bigger dragon fired a bright stream of iridescent light towards the officer's smaller cuff-headed one, blasting it into particles instantly.

"Aauughh!" screamed the officer as the force of the attack swept over him.

**Officer – 5300 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

"Urgh…" the officer groaned, slowly straightening. "Too bad, kid! Now Handcuff Dragon's effect activates! When your monster destroys my Handcuffs Dragon—"

"Not so fast! First, I've got some extra damage in store for you!"

"Huh?"

"Armory Arm's effect now activates! Since Stardust Dragon destroyed your Handcuffs Dragon, you now take damage equal to that monster's Attack Points!"

"What?!" yelled the officer as another wave of force swept towards him. "AAAHHH!"

**Officer – 3500 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

He groaned, but quickly recovered. "You may have gotten me down quickly, kid, but I won't lose to the likes of you! I'm activating my Handcuff Dragon's effect! When it's destroyed through battle, it equips to the monster that destroyed it and reduces that monster's Attack Points by its own! So prepare yourself, Satellite scum! I don't how you got your hands on that Synchro Monster, but you're going down! Go, Handcuffs Dragon! Cuff that Dragon of his!"

The weirdly shaped dragon reappeared and closed it's cuff-like appendages around Stardust's neck, causing the shining dragon to roar in agitation.

**Stardust Dragon – LV 8 / 1700 ATK / 2000 DEF**

Yusei scowled as his dragon's Attack Points decreased. "I place one card face down and end my turn!"

"Then it's my move! I draw!" The officer looked down at his drawn card and smirked. "You're going down here and now, Satellite!" He took three cards from his hand and fed them into a slot on his Duel Disk, where they then vanished. "By sending my Assault Dog, Guard Dog, and Tactical Espionage Expert from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Summon out my Montage Dragon!"

A gigantic, three-headed blank-faced dragon with bluish-black skin appeared on the field, rivaling Yusei's own Stardust Dragon in size.

**Montage Dragon – LV 8 / ? ATK / 0 DEF**

Yusei grimaced, remembering the dragon's effect from his Duel against Trudge and the massive Attack Points it could gain from its effect.

"Montage Dragon's Attack Points are equal to the combined Levels of the monsters I sent to the Graveyard multiplied by 300!" cried the guard. "And since I sent two Level 3 monsters and a Level 4, that puts Montage Dragon at a whopping 3000 Attack Points—far stronger than that Synchro of yours!"

**Montage Dragon – LV 8 / 3000 ATK / 0 DEF**

"Go, Montage Dragon! Attack Stardust Dragon!" the officer cried out, pointing at Yusei's glittering dragon.

The gigantic creature reared back and opened all three of its mouths, prepared to send a triple-stream of destructive power towards Yusei's monster.

"Not so fast!" countered Yusei. "I play my face down card: Scrap-Iron Scarecrow! This card puts a stop to your Dragon's attack!"

"Heh!" smirked the officer. "I've been waiting for you to play a Trap like that! I activate my own Trap Card: Wiretap! This card negates your Trap and shuffles it back into your Deck!"

Yusei felt a jolt. He had successfully baited the man into using what he had suspected the face down card all along: the Wiretap Trap Card. He removed his Scrap-Iron Scarecrow from the Spell/Trap slot and placed it on top of his Deck, which was then automatically shuffled by his Duel Disk.

"Go!" roared the officer. "Continue your attack, Montage Dragon!"

"I activate another Trap!" Yusei called out. "Say hello to Equip Shot!"

"Equip Shot?!" The man reeled. "What does that do?!"

"It takes a card equipped to one of my Attack Position monsters and equips it instead to one of _your_ Attack Position monsters! Right now, I have Armory Arm and your Handcuffs Dragon equipped to my Stardust Dragon, so guess which one I'm choosing?"

"Oh, no!" yelled the guard as he realized what was about to happen. "That means…!"

"It means that I'm equipping your Montage Dragon with your own Handcuffs Dragon!" Yusei yelled. "Equip Shot! Do your thing!"

A force field expanded from Yusei's Trap, forcing the Handcuffs Dragon's cuff-like jaws apart and flinging it back towards the officer, where it landed and attached to Montage Dragon.

"Now watch as the Attack Points of our beasts change!" yelled Yusei.

**Montage Dragon – LV 8 / 1200 ATK / 0 DEF**

**Stardust Dragon – LV 8 / 3500 ATK / 2000 DEF**

"Crap! My Montage Dragon!"

"And that's not all!" Yusei continued. "Not only does Equip Shot re-equip a card, it also forces the two monsters that had their Equip Cards switched to do battle! So that means that your Montage Dragon equipped with Handcuffs Dragon is now forced to battle my Stardust Dragon equipped with Armory Arm! Go, Stardust Dragon! Attack with Cosmic Flare!"

The two dragons simultaneously released twin beams of energy headed directly for each other, Stardust's rainbowish and Montage's pure white. The two beams collided in mid-air, forming a huge ball of lightning, but slowly, Stardust's stream overpowered Montage's, forcing the beam back towards the dark blue dragon until the lightning ball in the middle exploded, shattering the officer's monster and sending another wave of wind toward the unfortunate man.

**Officer – 1200 LP**

**Yusei – 8000 LP**

The officer buried his face behind his arms, preparing for the finishing blow. After several seconds passed and nothing happened, he risked lifting his head. "Wha… I didn't take any damage?"

"Unfortunately," Yusei answered, "Armory Arm's effect calculates damage based on your monster's Attack Points while in the Graveyard, and since your Montage Dragon's original Attack Points are unknown, you don't take any damage."

The guard lifted his head incredulously. "So… so I'm still in this, then!" A ray of hope flickered in his eyes.

"For one more turn, yes." Yusei lifted his Duel Disk up to his shoulders. "But you'd better do something, quick, or next turn will be the final turn!"

* * *

Jack whipped around in search of the voice. He had definitely heard that voice before. "Kalin?"

"Jack!"

There it was again! Jack spun in place, looking wildly. "Where are you, Kalin?!" he yelled. "Talk to me!"

"I'm in here!" came the voice. "On your left!"

Jack instantly re-oriented himself, whipping out the remote control for the cell and pressing the blue button. The wall pad for the cell switched from the glowing red word, "LOCKED", to a light blue "UNLOCKED". The door made an audible clicking noise, and Jack rushed in, looking for his friend.

There sat Kalin in the corner, hugging his knees, his silver hair dirty and matted.

"My God!" Jack immediately made his way over to the thin man, bending down to look Kalin in the face. "What happened to you, Kalin?"

The silver-haired man coughed. "Why… should you… care?"

Jack reeled backwards, his confusion evident. "What do you mean? We're friends, right?"

"Friends… are we, now?" Derision and resentment dripped from Kalin's every word. "Do you still expect me to believe that, after you sold me out?!"

Realization dawned on Jack. "Are you still on about that?! We didn't betray you! Yusei was trying to get the officer to arrest him instead of you—not ratting you out!"

"Oh, really?" Kalin's brown eyes—so kind and warm before, now cold and untrusting—narrowed. "Then why are you here, under Facility employ?"

"What?" Jack looked down at himself before laughing. "This is just a disguise, Kalin! I came in here specifically for the purpose of rescuing you! Now quit being an idiot and come on; we're getting you out of here!"

"'We'?" Kalin's eyes narrowed even further. "Who's 'we'?"

"Yusei and me!" Jack answered, his patience thinning. "I have no idea where he is, right now, but you need to hurry up or—"

"Wait," Kalin interrupted abruptly. "Yusei's here, too?"

"Yeah!" said Jack. "Now let's go!"

"Where is he? I want to see him first." Kalin's voice was resolute.

"Oh, for goodness' sake—come _on_, Kalin, we don't have all the time in the world here, y'know!" Jack checked his watch, which read 11:23. "Hurry up!"

"Where's Yusei?"

"We're supposed to meet up with him and get out of here—but that won't work if you keep on being so stubborn!"

"I'm not moving until I see and talk to Yusei!"

"Why are you doing this, Kalin? You hated Sector Security the most out of all of us—now that you have a chance to be free, to escape—why won't you take it?!"

Kalin stood firm.

"You… idiot!" Jack paced in front of Kalin for a few seconds before seeming to come to a decision. "I didn't want to do this, Kalin, but you're causing too many problems for me, so—" He reared back and punched Kalin square in the stomach. The silver-haired man had been ill-fed and was hardly in good shape, and as such was in no way prepared to withstand the strike, collapsing instantly.

Jack picked his unconscious friend up, lifting him over his shoulder before stepping out of the cell. Quickly glancing to see if there were any guards, he took off running down the hallway, eager to find a way out.

* * *

The man slumped over, his posture reflecting how tired he was. But then, his mouth slowly curved into a smile. "The final turn, you say? But I don't need that long. Check that watch of yours."

Yusei's eyes widened, looking downward. The watch read 11:27. _Crap!_

"You probably don't know this, seeing as you're nothing but a pathetic Satellite," the man continued, "but at 11:30, the guard shifts switch. So if I hold out for three more minutes…" He lifted a hand to point as Yusei. "People will come. And when they do, you'll be captured and taken by Security. And you know what the best part is?" He laughed. "There's not a bloody damn thing you can do about it!"

Yusei's eyes narrowed in frustration. As much as he hated to admit it, the man was right. And even though he only needed one turn to finish the Duel, he doubted that he could complete the task in less than three minutes, especially since the man's turn was coming up. All his opponent had to do was stall a little, and he'd… Finally, the crab-haired Duelist decided to try to appeal to the officer's sense of fair play. "You would back out of the result of a Duel? That's dirty."

"Actually," the officer corrected, "our Duel technically never would have finished, seeing as it would have been interrupted by whoever appeared to arrest you, and I'm afraid that would count as a no-result, so I wouldn't be obligated to do anything. And second, even if you did end up defeating me, this Duel is a no-holds-barred, unofficial, illegal match between an esteemed officer under the employ of the Public Security Bureau… and a pathetic kid from the slums of the Satellite. I don't think anybody would hesitate to ignore the standard rules of Duel etiquette in a case like this. Face it, kid. Coming here was a big mistake, and although that jump of yours was pretty impressive, this is the end of the line. You might as well give up now."

Yusei gritted his teeth, his eyes darting around the nearby area.

"So, shall we finish this?" The officer pulled a card from the top of his Deck, moving with deliberate slowness. "I… draw! And next, I'll be activating—"

"Freeze!" came a voice.

Both Yusei and his opponent looked up into the blinding beam of a high-powered standard-issue Sector Security flashlight. "Hey, Tony!" laughed the man Yusei had been Dueling, powering off his Duel Disk and in the process causing Yusei's Disk to power off as well. "You're just in time! Take this Satellite in for me, will ya? And while you're at it, make sure to torture him for info on where he put Steve!"

"Steve, huh?" The owner of the flashlight switched the beam off and strode towards Yusei, a stern expression on his face. "This kid abducted him? And took his clothes, by the look of it, too… You know what sort of trouble you're in for, kid?"

Yusei tensed as the man approached him, removing a pair of handcuffs from his belt. As the man neared, the crab-haired teen finally decided to take action: He lashed out with his right hand, hitting the officer squarely in the temple; the man crumpled instantly, out cold.

"H-hey!" The other officer, the one Yusei had been Dueling, started toward him, but the Satellite dweller quickly dispatched him with a well-placed kick.

Yusei looked around, groaning out loud. He had certainly made a mess of things. Deciding that the best course of action was to take refuge and try to reunite with Jack and hopefully Kalin, he sprinted off in the darkness of the Facility's many hallways and corridors.

* * *

Jack has successfully retrieved Kalin, but the silver-haired man's stubbornness has forced Jack to knock him out and carry him, putting a huge burden on his shoulders! Meanwhile, Yusei has found himself in a difficult position, having been caught by two guards, and although he successfully fought them off, he must now move quickly! Will Yusei and Jack meet up and manage to salvage their plan, despite initial complications? Or will they be apprehended by Security, sending the two of them and Kalin back to the Facility, this time for good? Find out next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rewriting the Future!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: amithegreat25 does not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's

* * *

Chapter Three

Rex Goodwin frowned, looking out of his penthouse window over the body of water separating the Satellite from New Domino. Somehow, Jack Atlas had failed to make it to New Domino City. It had been three months—a full quarter of a year—since Lazar had contacted the man, and Goodwin had been confident that with the sort of ambition he knew Jack had, the blonde-haired man would accept the offer.

It was quite simple, too—all Jack had to do was take that Stardust Dragon card off of his friend, Yusei Fudo, and ride through the pipeline connecting Satellite and New Domino, arriving at the city three minutes past midnight. For someone with Jack's skill, strength, and fortitude, it should have been easy.

But Jack hadn't come. Goodwin had come personally to welcome Jack when the blonde-haired Duelist inevitably would arrive, but he had waited and waited and had eventually been forced to conclude that Jack was not coming that night. Immediately afterward, Goodwin had checked with Sector Security to see if they had picked up anyone matching Jack's description—but the answer was a sound negative; the commander himself had come to see Goodwin and had personally assured the Director that no one remotely resembling Jack Atlas had been arrested.

"And we would know, too," the man had laughed. "After seeing one of your full-color sketches of the guy, I can tell you that he looks very distinctive, even amongst Satellites—so if any of my officers had seen him before, they'd remember. And I'm telling you now—not one of us has seen this person before in our lives."

The only remaining conclusion was that Jack had somehow been deterred from arriving that night, and so Goodwin had continued coming to the pipeline for the next several nights in the hope that Jack would somehow make it on those nights, but his efforts went unrewarded: Jack Atlas did not arrive on any of those nights, either.

So now, Goodwin was forced to come to the conclusion that he'd dismissed the most quickly in the beginning: that Jack simply didn't feel like coming. But that in turn meant that he'd have no Signer with whom to experiment—Jack really was the only Signer that both would be willing to cooperate with Goodwin in return for the fulfillment of his rather large ambitions, and was completely oblivious of his powers, which would allow Goodwin to experiment with them as he chose.

The Izinski girl had already begun using her powers, not to mention that she had been picked up by that Sayer fellow—now _that_ man was annoying, although Goodwin knew that he posed no real threat—so acquiring her was completely out of the question. There was no question about it; Akiza Izinski was not the one.

The young Luna, on the other hand, seemed fairly oblivious of her power and would have made a good subject, if not for the fact that she seemed quite fragile and would likely collapse under the strain—not to mention that her attachment to her twin brother could become problematic, and quickly. Add that to the fact that the girl was simply too young and Luna was definitely not a good choices.

Obviously, trying to use Roman's arm was a bad idea; Goodwin had been saving that arm for a long time, and for a very special purpose, and playing around with it in hopes of finding out what made a Signer tick would be imprudent to the extent of foolishness. No; Roman was out.

And of course, that left two possible choices: Jack Atlas… and Yusei Fudo. Goodwin felt a thin smile come to his face. Yusei Fudo. Possibly the most promising of all of the Signers… and best of all, completely undeveloped. He would have been a perfect test subject… if his last name had not been Fudo. Unfortunately, it was, and if Yusei was anything like his father at all, luring him away from his friends would simply not work. That left either tricking him—a difficult, if not impossible task, given the sharpness of the boy's mind—or abducting him, which would hardly put Yusei into a cooperative frame of mind—and such a hostile attitude would hardly be conducive to the sorts of tests Goodwin had in mind.

And so Goodwin had chosen Jack Atlas. The perfect target… ambitious, proud, skilled, and best of all… unsocial and closed off. An outcast. A lone wolf. Just the right kind of person for Goodwin to reach out to, and with the promises of fame and fortune coming from the City Director himself, Goodwin had been sure that the blonde-haired teenager would have leapt at the chance to leave the dump he had called a home. Goodwin had been so sure Jack would come… but the information he had recently acquired suggested that something had happened to disrupt his plans. Either he had been wrong about Jack entirely—and Goodwin prided himself on his ability to analyze people and dissect them—or something had happened to change Jack's mind.

If that was the case, then that something had seriously thrown a wrench into Goodwin's plans. And he intended to find out what.

He walked back over to his desk and pressed a switch at the base of a microphone, speaking into it. "Lazar."

A flickering holographic image of his Vice Director instantly appeared in front of Goodwin. "Yes, Director? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Arrange me a ride to the Satellite, scheduled for tomorrow morning. I am going to find out why Jack did not come." Goodwin inclined his head.

"B-but Director!" Lazar sputtered. "Are you sure it would be prudent for you, the Director of New Domino City, to enter into such a poor district as the Satellite? As I'm sure you're aware, the residents of that area bear no small amount of ill will towards residents of the city, and as the Director, are you sure—"

"I am aware of your concerns, Lazar," Goodwin interrupted, a thin bead of sweat forming on his forehead. "Everything will be taken care of. Please, arrange the ride now."

Lazar quickly stopped speaking and gave a salute. "U-understood, Director. I'll get started on that right now."

* * *

"Damn it!" Jack exhaled, bending over, Kalin still slung over his shoulder. "You're heavy, man! I'd have thought that after they starved you, you should be lighter than this!" He let Kalin slide to the floor while he caught his breath.

After several seconds, Jack's shoulder finally stopped aching as much and his breathing became more smooth and regular. He looked back at Kalin and sighed. "Why'd you have to be so stubborn, Kalin? Now I have to carry you around until you wake up… And how did you manage to get knocked out by a punch to the _stomach_, anyway? That's not supposed to be physically possible! And I didn't even hit you that hard…"

He took a few more seconds to rest before reaching down and picking Kalin's prone form back up, slinging the silver-haired man's body back over his shoulder. "Where's Yusei, anyway?" he wondered aloud. "It'd be a lot easier if he was here, too…"

Then he shook his head. "Oh, well. No use wondering where he is. If he doesn't want to show up… I'll just have to find him." Muttering darkly under his breath, he headed back into one of the Facility's many winding corridors.

* * *

Yusei's footsteps echoed unnaturally through the hallway as he ran, his ragged breaths tearing through otherwise tranquil air. He could've sworn the Facility was smaller than this—but then again, he hadn't been here for a long time, so it was probably normal that his memories of the place were slightly off…

Even as these thoughts ran through the crab-headed man's head, his legs continued pumping, almost of their own volition. That was a good thing, too, as he couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long—not while those two guards he'd knocked out lay there in the courtyard, in plain view for all to see.

A ghost of a smile appeared on Yusei's lips as he realized that that had been his one stroke of luck: The incident had taken place outside in the courtyard, and as he himself had noted earlier, the Facility's security system was so focused on keeping people _in_ that there were very few people monitoring the _exterior_, a prime example being the single guard guarding the outermost fence. So it was unlikely that anyone would stumble upon the two knocked out guards until the next shift rotation, by which time he, Jack, and Kalin would hopefully be long gone. Of course, Yusei realized that there were also security cameras in the courtyard, but hopefully whoever was monitoring them was busy with other things—all in all, a fairly good change, given the extremely low attention paid to the outside—but that didn't make him relax. He had to stay alert—avoid guards, and if he did meet one, try to bluff his way through with his guard outfit—and above all, find Jack and hope he had already found Kalin, because it was 11:33 and they were already three minutes behind.

That, in turn, led to another problem: Yusei had advised his gang to keep the computer tuned to the frequency for a while before and after 11:30 in order to account for a small margin of error, but at this rate, there would be no doubt that they would not be able to get to the security vault and fetch a radio in time, which would mean that Crow and the others would assume that the plan had gone smoothly and without a hitch, leading them to go to the best-case-scenario rendezvous location. And since that location was farther, that would put Yusei and Jack even more behind schedule.

Yusei would've sworn out loud if not for the fact that he needed to conserve his energy for running. He could always go back to the courtyard and get a radio from one of the fallen guards, but that would take more time than he could afford, and if he did, he would be running the risk of getting caught—and the reward wasn't even certain: Crow, Rally, and the others could have already departed and wouldn't even receive the transmission. No; that option was out.

That meant that they would simply have to move extremely quickly for the remainder of the mission, and _that_ meant that he _had_ to find Jack. Why did the Facility have to be so enormous?! It would take a miracle for him to find Jack in time… but that didn't mean he wouldn't try.

His footsteps continued to echo and his breaths continued to pervade the air as the crab-haired teenager forged on, sprinting at breakneck speed.

* * *

"All right, guys," Crow announced, a large grin of anticipation framed on his face. "We've been listening to the computer for a while now, and assuming you didn't mess something up while you were tuning in—"

"Hey!" Tank objected loudly, tearing his gaze away from the screen of Yusei's laptop and scowling.

"—Yusei hasn't contacted us yet, so we should get moving to Martha's place!" Crow continued, flashing Tank a quick smirk to show that he had been joking. "Get your gear ready, because it's time for us to move out!"

"Uh, Crow?" Rally piped up, looking at the heavily-marked man curiously. "We don't have any gear… what are you talking about?"

"Nothing. It was just a joke!" Crow looked down at the red-haired boy, frowning, and Rally jumped back, startled. "What is it with you guys? Don't you get jokes? I'm starting to think that hanging around Yusei too much'll kill your sense of humor…"

"We understand jokes," scowled Blitz, "but this is serious, don't you understand? It's not the time to be making jokes, it's the time for action! We need to be focusing on helping Yusei and Jack, not making wisecracks at a crucial moment like this!"

Crow blinked, stepping back. "Okay, okay…" he muttered, yielding. "Sheesh… I was just trying to lighten the mood… What is it with Yusei and his friends? Always so serious all the time…"

"We're not always serious," came the answer almost immediately. "It's just that—"

"All right, all right, enough," Crow interrupted, not wanting to hear more of Blitz's tirade. "Are we leaving or not?"

"Yeah." Nervin stood up and stretched, cracking his knuckles in the process, causing the rest of the room to jump. "We should probably get going."

And with that, the four of them—Nervin, Blitz, Rally, and Tank—filed out of the room in neat order, leaving Crow to be the only one still in the room. He blinked again. "What is it with you people? H-hey! Wait up!"

And he dashed out, following the rest of Yusei's group as they approached the two Duel Runners. As he caught up to the group, he found them standing in front of the Duel Runners, as if unsure of what to do.

"Well?" Crow asked. "What's the problem here?"

"How are we going to get the Duel Runners over to Martha's place?" Nervin asked.

"What? Is that some sort of joke?" Crow laughed. "That's an easy one! We'll ride them!"

"Ride them?" The entire group as a whole turned looked at Crow, causing the red-head to fidget uncomfortably.

"Well… yeah. How else would we get them there?"

"I don't know," snapped Blitz, "but it sure as hell isn't going to be riding them! Who's going to be doing the riding, huh? And how will the rest of the group keep up?"

"Oh, ye of little faith." Crow strode over to Jack's white Runner, stroking it affectionately. "Obviously, I'll be riding one of them."

"Yeah?" Blitz shot back. "And the other one?"

"Hmm…" Crow tapped his chin, looking at each member of the group in turn. "You." His hand shot out to point straight at Nervin.

The purple-haired man gulped, stepping backwards. "M-me? B-but I don't know h-how to ride a Duel Runner!"

"Oh, come on!" Crow sighed exasperatedly. "You're tall, you're lean, and I'm pretty sure you're fit!"

"Uh, yeah," Nervin replied, "about that—"

"You're just the right build for a Turbo Duelist!" Crow continued, oblivious to the tall, bespectacled man's protests. "It'll come naturally for ya! Trust me! After all, I've never ridden a Duel Runner either, but I'm sure I'll do great! All you need"—he patted Nervin on the shoulder—"is a little self-confidence!"

Blitz looked skeptical, but he made no comment on Crow's decision when he next replied. "Okay. Now to my other question. How are _we_"—he indicated himself and the others—"supposed to keep up with you two?"

"Well," Crow answered, "the red-haired kid—Rally, was it? Yeah, Rally can ride with me."

"And me and Tank?" Blitz asked.

"Oh, you two will just have to walk."

"_What?!_" exclaimed Blitz, looking outraged. "Do you seriously mean to tell me that you want us to _walk_ to Martha's place, while you, Nervin, and Rally just cruise on over?"

"Hey, calm down," rebutted Crow. "We all knew from the beginning that _someone_ was going to have to walk, right? I mean, you guys didn't even _think_ of riding the Runners until I brought it up, so really, what else did you have in mind? Rabbit-hopping?"

He was met with an embarrassed silence.

"So yeah, if you think about it logically, some of us were going to have to walk anyhow! And to get from here to Martha's place on foot—it's definitely doable! Just don't expect it to be too easy, and do the best you can—you'll get there just fine."

Blitz didn't look ready to give up just yet, opening his mouth yet again, but Crow cut him off. "Of course, Yusei doesn't actually _need_ you there…" he mused, almost to himself. "All he and Jack need are the two Runners, so you don't actually need to come…" His gaze refocused, shifting back to Blitz. "So, if you don't want to come—like, if you're too lazy, or something—you can just stay here! I'm sure it'll be a lot easier for you that way—"

"Not a chance," interrupted Tank. "This'll be the last time any of us see Yusei and Jack in a while. I'm not going to just stay here without going to at least say good-bye!"

"That's right," agreed Blitz after a short pause, even though he was scowling as he did so. "I guess you got me this time, Crow. But why do you get to—?"

Crow sighed, growing impatient. "Because I'm awesome, Nervin's tall enough, and Rally's small enough to ride with me, that's why! Now do you want to come or not?"

Blitz hesitated before sighing in defeat. "You win. I'm not going to just stay here and not go and see them off and wish them luck. I'm going."

"All right!" Crow flashed him a quick grin before turning to the rest of the group. "Now are there any other objections?"

No one responded, so Crow swiftly picked Rally up and placed him on the white Duel Runner before getting on in front of him, causing the red-haired boy to cry out in startlement. "Everyone ready? You—kid—what's your name again? Rally? Right, right, of course—now, hold on tight! Here we go!"

And with that, Jack's white Runner roared to life and zoomed down the rails that led to Yusei's makeshift home. Crow could hear Yusei's red Runner whirring close behind, the grinding noise of the tires punctured by Nervin's occasionally exclamations and shouts. They were already so far ahead that Crow couldn't hear Blitz or Tank, so the ginger-haired teen risked looking back; the two stragglers were jogging along, making good distance as well. He gave a whoop of joy as the wind whistled in his ears—was this how Yusei felt when he rode?—and felt Rally cling on to him even more tightly. _Hang in there, pal. We'__re on our way__… __Yusei._

* * *

Goodwin looked at the floating holographic digits in front of him, which read 11:36 PM. He sighed. Every night, he stayed up this late… being the City Director was definitely not the easiest job, and his burden was compounded by his duty to gather the Signers. Sometimes, it seemed as though giving up was the best option… but in his heart of hearts, Goodwin knew that that was something he could never do.

Tomorrow… tomorrow, the ride would be there, and tomorrow, he would go on a brief visit to the Satellite. Why hadn't Jack come? Goodwin felt like smashing his fist against his desk, but he restrained himself. He hadn't gotten to his position in the city by being impulsive. _Tomorrow,_ he consoled himself. _Tomorrow._

And then, simply as though to spite him, his phone started ringing. Goodwin scowled, reaching for the speakerphone button. As soon as he pressed it, the image of the Facility's warden, Chief Armstrong, appeared in front of him, flickering unsteadily.

"Rex Goodwin here. Is there something amiss?"

And then, Armstrong's reply completely shattered Goodwin's hopes for a quiet night.

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

Ren Takamura whistled merrily, striding past row after row of prisoners with perfect impunity, ignoring the inmates' shouts altogether. As he reached the end of a hall, he turned and continued his stride, whistling all the while.

Really, he saw no reason for any guards at all. He seriously doubted the inmates were stupid enough to actually try anything, and round after round gave him the same result: nothing. Shift after shift, he either stood guard at some entrance or exit point, or played the "inmate checker": The person responsible for checking if all inmates were still present at dawn or at curfew. Right now, he was the inmate checker.

Without even looking into any cells, he simply walked down the hallway, letting his mind wander into other topics and subjects, such as his recent breakup with his girlfriend—he _still_ couldn't understand where he had gone wrong with their relationship. Women!

He reached another corner and turned again, this time reaching a set of stairs that he knew from memory led to the ground floor. Quickly stepping down the stairs, he continued his trek, still not checking on any prisoners. What could go wrong, anyways? Nothing had ever happened since he had started working here, and he had worked here a _long_ time—seven years, to be exact. Habit had long since replaced wariness, and he walked with an untouchable air, because Ren was, in fact, untouchable—at least to his mind.

He reached the entrance and sniffed. The air in the Satellite was not clean, but the air in the Facility was even worse; it was permeated with the odors of sweat, hormones, and… _other_ emissions that Ren preferred not to think about. He quickly glanced around to see if there were any superiors nearby, and seeing none, he stepped out of the Facility and into the cool night air, allowing his lungs to refresh themselves with non-gas-polluted oxygen.

It was then that Ren noticed the still bodies of two of his colleagues on the ground. He had never been good with names, but… one of them was definitely supposed to be guarding the gate, and the other… well, Ren had no idea what _he_ was doing outside, but one thing was sure: Neither of them were conscious.

Ren paled visibly. Hand trembling, he reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a small, portable black transceiver. Pressing and holding down a red button on the side of the device, he began speaking tersely into it. "Uh, anyone? We've got a problem here. I'm at the southern of the Facility at ground level, and I've got two unconscious officers here… Please reply, over. I repeat: Please reply!"

He broke into a dash, running outwards toward the gate, a single word running through his mind: _Shit!_ He had never been in this situation before… Then, as he neared the gate, he noticed a pair of unmoving legs sticking out from behind a building, wearing dirty-looking jeans and brown boots with some orange-ish jewels embedded in them. Frowning, Ren pulled out his remote and manually opened the gate, heading towards the legs. When he finally got there…

"_Crap!_"

* * *

Jack kept on running, his legs and arms burning with the weight of Kalin on his shoulders. Nevertheless, he did not stop—he couldn't afford to. He had to find Yusei, or else their plan would be completely ruined. He stopped at a patch of walls with no cells nearby and checked his watch. It read 11:35. He swore. They were already five minutes behind schedule, so he had to find Yusei quickly.

Then, Kalin groaned. Surprised, Jack quickly came to a halt and put his friend down. The silver-haired man sat up, rubbing his head. "What… happened? And why does my stomach hurt… so much?" He coughed. Then his eyes refocused, and his gaze sharpened, flickering over his surroundings before landing straight… on Jack. "_You!_" He quickly got to his feet and attempted to grab Jack by the collar, but his lack of nutrition and strength meant that he barely moved the tall blonde man at all.

"Listen, Kalin," Jack said calmly, having already worked out what to say while Kalin was unconscious. "It's not what you think. It's like I said earlier: Yusei and I are here to get you out of here!"

"Yeah?" Kalin shot back.

"Yeah," Jack repeated, which seemed to infuriate the grey-haired man even more. "That's exactly right."

"I don't believe you." Kalin's voice was stiff.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

"I—what?" Kalin broke off, seemingly caught off guard.

"I said, _do you want to get out of here?_" Jack repeated, gesticulating wildly in front of Kalin's face. "If you do, it doesn't matter if you believe me or not! Look around! I've already gotten you out of your cell, and if you just keep on coming with me, we'll meet up with Yusei and—"

"Yusei!" Kalin's voice went wild, and he looked around jerkily, as though expecting the spiky-haired man to pop out of nowhere. "Where is he?!"

"Like I said, we'll find him—" Jack began, beginning to get frustrated, but then he was cut off by a very familiar sound. A sound that meant trouble. Suddenly, he and Kalin were bathed in red, oscillating light emitting from a nearby strobe, and the ear-piercing sound of an alarm rang out over and over again, echoing throughout the entire Facility.

"Attention!" came a voice over the intercom. "Two guards have been found unconscious at the southern entrance to the Facility! Current analysis of the situation suggests that they were knocked out by a group of intruders who initially attempted to Duel one of them! Review of records on the Duel Disk one of the guards was wearing when found showed that his opponent was running a Synchron/Warrior Deck, along with a very unique WIND-Attribute Dragon-Type monster which does not appear in our card databases! All guards are to look for this intruder, but a word of caution: This intruder is to be considered armed and dangerous! Finding and subduing him is to be considered top priority!"

"A WIND-Attribute Dragon-Type monster? That has to be Stardust!" growled Jack. "And that means that that 'intruder' must've been Yusei! Yusei… you fool!" He threw a punch directly at the concrete wall, causing cracks to spread out from the point of impact. "What was he thinking…?!"

Meanwhile, Kalin was inspecting Jack closely. Noticing this, Jack snapped, "What do you want?!"

"…I changed my mind."

"What?"

"I'll come with you for now… if only to find the answers I need."

Jack growled at him. "_Now_, you agree?! At a time like this?! It really took an _alarm_ going off to convince you we were on your side? Goddammit, Kalin! Fine—come on, let's get out of here!"

He took off sprinting down the hallway, Kalin following closely behind him.

* * *

Yusei groaned. They were on to him… He increased his pace, ignoring the pain he felt in his lungs and his legs. As he reached a corner, he instantly turned left before turning right. Sprinting down a particularly long hallway, he forced himself to go even faster, causing his breaths to come out in short wheezes. As he approached the end of the hallway, he turned left and saw… a guard coming down the hallway, heading directly towards him!

"Hey! Stop!"

But Yusei didn't stop, continuing his sprint towards the guard. As the distance between them closed, Yusei pulled back a fist and struck the guard directly in the face. As the man reeled, Yusei felled him with a hard kick to the solar plexus. As the man collapsed, Yusei quickly ran past, his speed barely decreasing. He marveled at the strength and endurance adrenaline could grant a person, but he was all too aware that if he encountered more guards and physically beat them this way, he would be leaving a makeshift trail of injured or unconscious guards in his wake, which would lead to more guards on his trail, and either him being forced to deal lethal force or risk being captured—neither of which was a notion that he fancied.

As he rounded another corner, he found himself surrounded by cells on all sides, but instead of jeering at him and insulting him, the prisoners were actually cheering him on—were they so bored that this sort of thing was their idea of fun? What was this for them—prime-time television?

Then the thought was pushed out of Yusei's mind almost as quickly as it had come as another figure dressed in guard's clothing rounded the corner at the opposite end of the hallway in front of him; Yusei dispatched him as quickly and efficiently as he had the first, but as he did so, he felt his strength dip slightly—clearly, as powerful as an adrenaline rush was, it still had its limits. This, of course, was bad news for Yusei. He had to find Jack, and quickly.

He continued his mad dash, his heart beating wildly, blood coursing through his veins. He was going to get out of here, and Kalin and Jack were coming with him… even if it would take a miracle to do it.

* * *

Meanwhile, across a large patch of sea, in an area known as the Tops District of New Domino City, a young girl with bluish-green hair woke up in her bed with a gasp.

Across the room in another bed, a second child, who looked similar to the girl but was unquestionably a male, sat up as well, rubbing his eyes and looking at the girl. "Luna? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," the girl responded. "I just felt like… something was wrong."

"Something wrong?" the boy repeated. "Was it anything to do with the spirit world?"

"No," replied the girl. After a pause, she seemed to come to a conclusion. "It was probably just a bad dream."

"Oh. Okay." The boy lay down again. "Well… just try to go back to sleep, okay?"

The girl nodded, lying down as well. "Mm-kay. Good night, Leo."

"Good night, Luna."

* * *

Without even saying good-bye, Goodwin clicked off as soon as the warden finished giving his explanation, immediately pressing another button on his desk phone.

His Vice Director reappeared, looking at him. "Yes, Director? Is there anything else I can do for you? Your arrangements are nearly finished, if that's what you were calling about—"

"Lazar," Goodwin cut in. "There's been a change in plans. Reschedule the trip for right now."

"R-right now?" the clown-like man stammered. "B-but Director! I-I'm afraid that that's not—not possible, even for a man of your stature! There's paperwork, bureaucratic procedures—"

"I don't want excuses, Lazar. Make it work," Goodwin said, a strange glint in his eyes reflecting that there was no room for disagreement. "Or am I to understand it that you have found another job opportunity that does not involve my approval in some way?"

Lazar yelped, jumping backwards away from the display. "N-no, Director, of course not! I'll get right to it! You!" he snapped to someone off screen. "There's been a change! The Director wants his ride tonight!"

A quick pause, and then Lazar resumed speaking. "I don't care what your _procedures_ are; if you don't make the necessary changes _this_ moment, I'll have all your jobs! …What do you mean, I can't?! Recall that you are speaking with the Vice Director of this fine city, and that I am perfectly entitled to have your jobs! Now get moving, or else!"

The clown-looking man disappeared off of the display for several minutes, during which Goodwin waited impatiently. Then, he reappeared, looking back towards the Director. "Yes, Director! Your ride has been arranged. A helicopter should be arriving on the roof of your penthouse any moment now."

"Thank you, Lazar," Goodwin responded, quickly clicking off and heading upstairs. As he opened the hatch to the roof, he indeed heard the whirring of rotors and saw a small speck in the sky. The speck grew larger and larger before finally growing into a full-sized chopper, which slowly hovered downwards until it landed slowly on the roof of Goodwin's building.

Goodwin climbed into the plane. "Thank you," he said to the pilot. "Please head to the Satellite straight away."

The helicopter lifted off, floating lazily above Goodwin's flat for a moment before smoothly heading across the vast divide that separated the city and the Satellite.

* * *

Yusei turned another corner, panting heavily now. He had no idea where he was going or how far he had come; he was just running aimlessly now. He finally slowed down and bent over, looking at the ground while he tried to catch his breath.

"Halt, intruder!"

Yusei spun around to see that there were at least twenty guards behind him. He look back in the direction he was going to see that there were as many guards in front of him as well. He was in the middle of an open hallway, and there was no other way to go but straight towards one group or the other. On one side was a solid wall, and on the other side was a railing, past which was nothing but open air… Of course!

As the two groups advanced on him in a pincer-like move, Yusei quickly put one hand on the railing and swung himself over, catching on to the floor as he fell so that he was hanging from the stone floor he had just dropped from with only one hand.

"He's getting away!" called one of the guards. As one, the correctional officers surged forward, but Yusei quickly let go and dropped down to an identical corridor a floor below, immediately breaking into a run once more.

As he ran, the crab-haired man checked his watch again. It was 11:45. He swore yet again. Fifteen minutes to get out of Facility with Jack and Kalin and make it to Martha's place—the odds were not looking good. He was halfway down the corridor when inspiration struck. If it was so late and he and Jack were so behind schedule, it only made sense that they should leave as quickly as possible. Jack wasn't dumb. He knew that in the case of an emergency, he should head for the exits… which meant that while Yusei had been sprinting through the entire building in search, exhausting himself in the process, Jack was probably making his way towards one of the entrances. And seeing as the violet-eyed man had entered through the northern entrance, it was a fair bet to say that he was heading that way now.

With this in mind, Yusei knew that he had to get down to the ground floor as quickly as possible… and there was one technique that he had already used earlier to evade the guards. He once again grabbed the railing and swung off, letting go halfway through his jump and landing neatly down on the concrete pathway, one floor closer to ground level. He quickly did it again, then again, and then several more times, until he found himself on the base floor. Looking around and seeing nothing, he dashed off to find the northern exit.

Then, Yusei stopped. He checked his watch. 11:38. He was already extremely late… so a few minutes wouldn't make much of a difference, right? He hesitated only a moment longer before turning around and running back the way he came. He had something to do.

* * *

"Come on, Kalin!" Jack snapped, turning around to look at the man trailing behinds him.

"It's… not… as easy… as it used to be!" Kalin wheezed, trying to keep up. Months of malnutrition and lack of exercise had clearly drained him of the strength he used to have.

"Damn it!" Jack exclaimed in frustration. "Do you want to be free or not, Kalin?! Because if we get captured, you're not getting another chance!"

"I just want to talk to Yusei!" came the answer, and for some reason, it came without any pauses or wheezing. "I want to talk to him!"

Interesting, thought Jack. Perhaps the thought of Yusei aroused so much anger, or hate, or whatever in Kalin that he was able to concentrate more when thinking of the crab-haired man? He decided to test out this theory. "Well, you're definitely not getting to talk to him if we don't find him, now are you? If you hurry up, we can get you out of here, and then you can talk to him as much as you want!" Probably not, Jack knew, as he and Yusei were going to be leaving nearly immediately, looking at how much they were behind schedule—but Kalin didn't need to know that. All he needed was a good motivation to keep him going.

As Jack had suspected, Kalin's gaze sharpened and his resolve seemed to stiffen, and his pace _definitely_ seemed to increase—and suddenly, it was Jack who had to work on keeping pace with the other teenager. "That's the spirit!" he called out. "Now keep it up, and we'll get to Yusei in no time!"

He just hoped that Yusei would make it out of the Facility alone, because they did _not_ have enough time to go looking for the spiky-haired Enforcer any longer. No, Jack thought as they continued to run, their destination… was the exit.

* * *

"Please," Goodwin requested for the _nth_ time, "make haste. We can't afford to lose any time."

"Listen, pal," the pilot retorted, "I'm going as fast as I can already, okay? I'd be able to concentrate better and not drop us into the ocean, for instance, if you would stop nagging!"

Seeing Goodwin's stony face, the man quickly backtracked. "A-actually, n-never mind—n-nag all you want, j-just d-don't take my j-job!"

Goodwin looked away from the man, deeming him unimportant and indeed almost useless, if not for the fact that he were steering the aircraft he was currently in. Instead, he looked out ahead, trying to make out the outline of the Satellite against the inky blackness of the sky. Behind him were the bright lights of New Domino City, but the Satellite was not known for its surplus of electricity, and so it was nearly completely dark. Nonetheless, however, Goodwin could just barely see the outline of the island, and he was encouraged to see that they were indeed making good ground.

And if his observations of Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas were correct, one of the guards found unconscious outside was wearing clothes several sizes too small for him… clothes that suspiciously resembled those of Yusei Fudo, particularly the dark blue jacket on the man's heavyset shoulders.

_Yusei Fudo… What are you up to?_ the Director wondered. _It seems I'm about to find out._

Jack and Kalin were nearing the northern exit from which Jack had entered. _Yusei…_ Jack thought. _I hope you know what you're doing…_

They dashed outside and headed for the gate when Kalin suddenly stopped.

Jack turned around to look tiredly at the man. "What's wrong now?"

"My Deck. I need my Deck," Kalin stated flatly.

"There's no time for that!" rebutted Jack. "We _had_ originally intended to get you your Deck, but we're way off schedule, and getting your Deck right now is rather low on my list of priorities!"

"_Your_ list? _Your_ list?" Kalin's eyes narrowed. "I don't give a damn about your list of priorities! My _Deck_ is essential to my survival in the Satellite, and I'm not leaving without it, do you hear me?!"

"Is something wrong?" came a voice.

Jack and Kalin both turned immediately to see a very familiar spiky-haired figure standing in front of them, dressed in guard's clothes a few sizes too large. In the figure's hand was a thick, battered-looking stack of cards.

"Yusei!" Jack exclaimed, at the same time that Kalin cried, "My Deck!"

"Yep." Yusei smirked, handing Kalin his Deck. The silver-haired man immediately began sorting through the cards to make sure that none were damaged or missing. "Now, then. We're fairly short on time, so we need to get out of here."

"Not so fast," interrupted Kalin, scowling at Yusei. "I have a few questions for you about what happened that night, Yusei."

"No time right now," Yusei returned, equally quickly. "We can talk later. We need to move now."

"I disagree." Kalin stepped forward, grasping Yusei by the collar. All exhaustion he had displayed earlier seemed to simply vanish; his entire focus was on the crab-haired teen before him. "We need to _talk_… traitor."

Yusei sighed, looking rather resigned. "For the last time, Kalin, I'm not a traitor. I was trying to turn myself in instead of you." He then directed his gaze over the thin, silver-haired man's shoulder at Jack, who was standing awkwardly to the side. "Is this how's he's been acting?"

"The entire time," Jack answered, glaring at Kalin. "I even had to knock him out and carry him for a while—which was _not_ my intent at all… but _this_ bozo"—he directed his words towards Kalin—"somehow managed to get knocked out by a hit to the _stomach—_"

Yusei ignored the rest of Jack's speech, instead electing to look back at Kalin, who was still holding him by the collar, not with any fear or anger or hostility, but rather sadness. "Really, Kalin… if it means that much to you… I'm sorry." _I'm more sorry than you know, Kalin. I'm sorry for letting you become a Dark Signer… sorry for making you try to commit suicide in Crash Town… sorry about everything you've gone through…_

But Kalin had no way of knowing what the crustacean-haired man was thinking, and right now he was considering only the "fact" that Yusei had betrayed him—so he shook his head, rejecting Yusei's apology. "That's not good enough, Yusei. You betrayed me… and our relationship will never be the same. Now I'm going to ask you a simple question." His hand tightened on Yusei's guard's shirt's collar, pulling the crab-head forward. "Why did you do it? Why did you wreck the Enforcers' dream?!"

Yusei frowned, knowing that Kalin would be at least as hard to convince as Jack had been when he'd first approached him, and maybe even more, seeing as he'd had months in the Facility to stew on his anger. To talk to him right now would be a waste of even more time when they already had none. But Yusei already knew what to do. He hated himself for it, wished he were able to talk to Kalin and explain everything to him the same way he had done with Jack… but they were pressed for time, and as a result, that simply wasn't possible right now. So he lightly brushed Kalin's curled fist off of his collar and stepped back. "Sorry, Kalin. But there just isn't enough time right now. I'm afraid that if you want an in-depth explanation, you'll have to wait until another day." He turned to Jack. "Let's go."

Jack didn't seem to understand, but Yusei didn't bother explaining. Instead, he turned around to face the exterior gate's direction… and ran.

"H-hey! Wait up!" Jack instantly began sprinting after his friend, leaving Kalin alone in the courtyard.

The silver-haired man blinked twice, surprised. He turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps and saw several guards coming closer to him, crying, "Freeze! Put your hands behind your head and turn around slowly!"

Kalin didn't freeze. Without thinking, he turned and raced off into the darkness, hot on his friends' heels.

As Yusei ran, he heard two sets of heavy footsteps catch up to and then fall into pace behind him, and couldn't help smiling to himself. Their little exploit may not have gone quite as well as he'd planned, and they might've had very little time left—eighteen minutes, to be exact—but Kalin had been broken out. And that meant that their mission was a success.

* * *

"Okay, we're here!" called the pilot as he slowly hovered over a wide street in the upper southern district of the Satellite, causing small amounts of dirt and pebbles to be swept aside by the wind of the rotors, right in front of the Facility's southern exit.

"Good," said Goodwin. "Please land."

The pilot complied, and a few seconds later, the hatch had reopened and Goodwin stepped out, breathing in the air of the Satellite—which for some strange reason actually felt cleaner than that of New Domino City. Perhaps it was because the Satellite had experienced less pollution than the city, or maybe it was the fact that it was completely isolated from any other area of Japan—but in any case, Goodwin wasn't here for sightseeing. He was here for Yusei Fudo, and if he was lucky, Jack Atlas.

He walked up to the gate, which was surrounded by Sector Security officers, obviously analyzing the available evidence to try and come up with a conclusion. As Goodwin stepped forward, one of the officers told him, "Stand back. All civilians must keep a strict five-meter radius of separation from the scene."

"I'm afraid you'll find," answered Goodwin, "that I am no ordinary civilian."

The officer glanced at Goodwin and instantly blanched, backing away and nearly tripping in the process. "S-so sorry, Director Goodwin! I-I didn't see you arrive! P-please, g-go right ahead, sir!"

"Thank you." Goodwin stepped forward, turning to the person who seemed to be the leader. "I would like to speak to Chief Armstrong, please."

"I'm sorry?" The man turned around. "Ah! Director Goodwin! When did you get here?"

"The time of my arrival is irrelevant. I would like to see Chief Armstrong."

"Y-yes, of course, Director! He's, ah…" The officer paused, squinting through the crowd of law enforcement. "…right there! I have some of my men questioning him right now, but I'll make room for you right away."

Goodwin nodded. "Please do so."

The officer hurried off, barking orders to a small group of men. After a short exchange, the group broke apart and drifted off to other parts of the crime scene, revealing the rather large warden of the Facility behind. Goodwin quickly stepped in, confronting the rather elusive chief before he could lose him again.

Armstrong turned around and saw Goodwin, which caused his thick face to instantly break into a sneering sort of a smile. "Ah, good! Finally, someone who actually has some pull around this place! Glad to see you here, Director—but, uh, if you don't mind my asking, why did you feel the need to come over on such short notice?"

"I'm here on a rather… private agenda, if you will," Goodwin replied, deftly sidestepping the question, "and as such, I'm sure you understand that I can't afford to divulge information at this time. However, perhaps it might quell your curiosity to know that I have personal business with this intruder of yours."

"Ah," Armstrong intoned, nodding as though he understood. "One of _those_ guys, eh, Director? Not to worry, Director, we all have those people that we just can't let go of, believe me. My list's gotten too large to count, lately…" he trailed off, scowling.

Goodwin didn't respond, allowing the man to draw his own conclusions, whatever they might be. Instead, he simply nodded, continuing with his line of query: "Please, tell me: Do you have any reason to believe that the suspect is still within the building?"

"Nothing concrete, sir," Armstrong said, "as these incompetent and lazy asswipes here"—he indicated the majority of the officers present—"have bogged up my time questioning me, because I'm some sort of 'witness' or something—bullshit, in my opinion—but rest assured, Director, my best men are on the case, and I'm confident that no suspect's leaving the building until we're through!"

Goodwin sighed. Translated, that meant that there was about a ninety-percent chance that Yusei and whatever friends he'd had with him had already left and accomplished whatever they'd set out to do… which meant that the main focus would shift from finding them in the Facility to pursuing them throughout the whole of Satellite, and if Jack was with Yusei, possibly even New Domino City as well… and Goodwin sincerely doubted the ability of Sector Security to keep up with Yusei, who was already keenly resourceful and intelligent just through his father, and who had undoubtedly honed those inborn traits even more through having to live in the Satellite. So in the end, giving pursuit would just be a waste of effort and resources… but Goodwin knew that Yusei Fudo was no fool. He wouldn't risk something as massive as this unless there was something that merited it, and if he could only find out what, then the situation would shift dramatically, because Goodwin would finally have some leverage over the crab-haired teenager, and then _he_ would possess the advantage, not Yusei—he might even be able to acquire the teen as his test subject, as he'd originally wanted—but that would only occur if he played his cards right.

A faint trace of a smile appeared on Goodwin's lips. In the end, maybe this incident, so serious-looking on the outside, would actually play to his advantage… He turned back to Armstrong, reemerging from his thoughts.

"I see. In that case… I thank you for your time, Mr. Armstrong. I must go now."

Who were Yusei Fudo's familiars, he wondered—who, in other words, would the young man flee to after something like this? Goodwin's small smile widened into something larger and far more sinister.

Perhaps the answer was already there.

* * *

Running nonstop was definitely having an adverse effect on his health, Yusei noted, and it would be foolish to assume that the same did not hold for Jack and Kalin as well… But he didn't stop, because he couldn't afford to.

As he ran, everything that was happening that moment, as well as everything that had happened to lead up to that moment, seemed to blur together into a uniform sludge of sameness… All he was aware of was the pumping of feet, of the searing pain in his lungs, and of the cool wind brushing past him and ruffling his hair… over and over again as he ran.

Perhaps something to occupy his mind as he ran, to distract him from the exhaustion? How long had he been running, anyway? He checked his watch; it was 11:52. He had first knocked out the two guards and started running at 11:27. His mind feebly tried to calculate how long he had been running that night, but to Yusei's dismay, the answer didn't come immediately, which was immensely alarming—as a skilled Duelist, Yusei prided himself on his ability to do basic mathematical operations correctly, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division—after all, with a Duel being based so heavily on Life Points, Attack Points, and so on, a good mathematical foundation was a prerequisite for being a good Duelist—and the crab-haired man would wager a good amount of money that he was one of the fastest thinkers in the Satellite—which meant that if he couldn't even do a simple subtraction operation right now, he must be seriously fatigued… Was he so out of energy that he couldn't even subtract anymore? If that was the case, then he was unsure if he could make it the rest of the way to Martha's house… how far away was Martha's house, anyway? Were they at least a third of the way there? Halfway? More?

Out of the corner of his eye, Yusei saw a Sector Security officer riding up to apprehend him, and he tensed, receiving a sudden burst of sprinting energy—but then Yusei blinked, and the officer suddenly vanished—was he ever there at all? Was he delirious, perhaps hallucinating due to exhaustion? Yusei had never experienced delirium before, so he couldn't very much know, but the closest he had ever gotten was after his Duel with Roman, when he had fallen into the old Ener-D Reactor…

Suddenly, he could have sworn that the Ghost was hot on his tail, with Meklord Emperor Wisel floating somewhere above and to his right—then he blinked, and they disappeared as well… He was definitely seeing things… It was purely psychological, he assured himself… Every passing shadow was being interpreted as something from his past because his brain was low on oxygen, not because they were actually there… Once he got to New Domino, he could take a nice, long rest… All he had to do was keep on going just a little bit longer.

And through it all, his legs kept pumping, and the heavy thud of running footsteps behind him reassured him that Jack and Kalin were still behind him as well. Yusei felt a small degree of peace and confidence; they could make it—there was nothing stopping them apart from their own endurance—

Suddenly, he reached a corner of an alleyway and blinked—he had no idea where to go. That wasn't right. He knew the Satellite as well as anyone, having grown up there—he should have known this area inside and out, especially as he'd spent time familiarizing himself with it in preparation for the mission. So how could he have forgotten? His stride slowed as he came to a gradual halt, looking around in confusion.

Behind him, he heard Jack and Kalin slow as they caught up as well, both of them breathing heavily, but Kalin in particular, who was wheezing and coughing. Jack quickly caught his breath and walked up to Yusei. "What's wrong?"

Yusei paused before answering. "…I don't know which way to go."

Jack opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it again. He finally let out a hoarse chuckle. "Was that supposed to be a joke, Yusei? Because if it was, it wasn't very funny."

"I would never joke about something like this, Jack." Yusei exhaled, his mind clouding over as he tried, desperately, to recall which direction Martha's house lay in. It was as if his usual sense of direction had been utterly destroyed. "I… just don't know," he concluded. "I don't know where Martha's place is."

Jack began to answer, but Kalin broke in. "Great! Fantastic! You broke me out of the Facility, Yusei, and for what? To just get us all captured again?! I should've known better than to trust you, you—!"

"Weren't you the one who wanted to talk to Yusei so badly?!" Jack shot back. "We came to rescue you, Kalin, out of the goodness of our hearts—and this is what we get?! Mouth from you?! If you've got a problem with the way we do things, you can just go right on back to the Sector Security people and turn yourself in! Big loss that would be!"

And then, as if of its own accord, the right answer suddenly instilled itself back into Yusei's mind, and he suddenly knew which way to go—it was as if he'd never forgotten in the first place. "This way!" he said, and quickly started moving again, closely followed by his two friends.

* * *

Crow glanced at the clock hanging against Martha's wall for about the fifth time, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. "Where are Yusei, Jack, and Kalin?!" he mused to himself. "They're really cutting it close!" It was 11:57, and there were just three minutes left before the hatch on the trash chute to New Domino would briefly close.

"You're telling me," scowled Blitz, who was seated close to window and serving as the "lookout" for the group. "They'd better show up soon."

"You've been saying that for the last ten or fifteen minutes!" Tank rallied from the kitchen. "How exactly is complaining so much going to change things, anyways?"

"It won't," sighed Nervin, who was still shaking slightly from his ordeal with the Duel Runners, "but it's fun to complain and vent your frustration sometimes. After all, aren't you complaining about us complaining right now?"

"Well… yeah, but that's different!" Tank defended, frowning at Nervin. "I'm telling you to _stop_ complaining, which is something that I can actually influence, whereas you guys are just whining about Yusei and the gang to hurry up and get here, which has absolutely _no_ effect on when they actually _will_ get here!"

"It's a stress response," retorted Nervin, significantly more irritable than usual. "You can't stop people from venting when there are things they need to let out—like being frustrated when there are"—he glanced up at the clock—"literally _two_ minutes left for Yusei and co to arrive!"

"Shut up, all of you!" Blitz snapped without looking away from the window. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"On what, honestly?" laughed Crow. "As long as you're able to tell when Yusei's here, what else is there to concentrate on?"

At this, Blitz really did turn around. "Oh, really? And how am I _supposed_ to see if they're here or not if I'm not concentrating?"

"Um, maybe use your eyes?" the orange-haired man shot back. "You don't need to 'concentrate' to see, you know!"

"In case you didn't know, Einstein, it's dark out there!" Blitz responded. "And yes, I _do_ have to concentrate to see out into an unlit alleyway in the freakin' Satellite when it's almost _midnight_!"

"Blitz, you're not concentrating right now, are you?" Tank pointed out. "Why don't you actually turn around and do your job instead of arguing with Crow?"

"I _was_ before Crow interrupted me!"

"Everyone!" Rally broke in, startling the others after his long period of silence. "Isn't Yusei the focus here? I don't know about you, but _I_ for one want him to arrive safely, and arguing isn't going to help anything!"

"And what can we do about them arriving safely, anyway? We're just bystanders, observers!"

"Now, now," came a voice from the stairs. All five of the people sitting downstairs turned around to see Martha standing halfway up the staircase, holding several boxes in her hands. "All this arguing is for nothing, isn't it? Crow, I see you still haven't lost that flamboyant streak of yours."

Said orange-haired teen looked down embarrassedly. "I, uh…"

"Why don't you put some of that energy to more constructive use," Martha pointed out, "and help out around the house? Look at the children helping me to clean upstairs! You could learn a thing or two about diligence and hard work from them."

"Hey, I used to do that all the time when I was their age!" Crow defended hotly.

"Of your own free will?" Martha's face shone with quiet amusement. "I may just be getting old, but I don't recall a single time you actually helped me out around here without any coercion on my part. Do you?"

"Eh… er…" Crow looked away again.

"Why don't you come upstairs?" Martha repeated, turning around. "And that goes for the rest of you, too," she directed at Yusei's group of friends.

There was a cacophony of groaning and scraping noises as each person noisily got up from their seats.

"All right, all right," sighed Tank.

"Is she usually this strict?" muttered Blitz out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yes, I am," said Martha sternly, her ears perking at this surreptitious comment. "You're friends with Yusei, right? He didn't tell you about me, who used to take care of him, and what it was like? Tsk… I'd have thought that he would pay more respect to the person who'd raised him, but apparently not… No matter. What matters is that I _am_ usually this strict, and anyone who stays at my humble abode, even if only for a small while, must contribute in any way possible. Now, hurry up, please."

There was a chorus of grumbling as everyone got up and headed upstairs with Martha, looking unusually disgruntled, the only exceptions being Crow, who was used to this treatment, and Rally, who strangely enough seemed quite eager to help, causing Martha to smile at him. "You see? Now, this is an example of a fine, upstanding youth who is ready and willing to lend a hand whenever possible. Yusei did well with you," she informed the red-haired boy, who beamed with pleasure.

At that moment, there came several quick knocks on the door. Blitz, seizing the opportunity to miss out on some work, cried out, "That must be Yusei!" and dashed to the door, opening it without even looking through the window.

Instantly, a group of Sector Security officers leapt in and grabbed him; then, more officers appeared through the doorway, flooding through nonstop until the entire house seemed to be inundated with law enforcement.

"Why, you…!" Crow cried out in indignation, struggling uselessly against the two officers who held him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" gasped Martha, gazing defiantly upon her captors.

Finally, a small gap appeared in the crowd of officers, through which a tall man with long, silver-white hair tied into a long ponytail, a grey suit, and snugly fitting white gloves appeared. "Greetings. I am Rex Goodwin, but I am sure the residents of the Satellite know me much better by another name: the City Director. I apologize for this, ah, intrusion… of sorts, but I am afraid that we shall be remaining here for the time being. However, although I cannot offer immediate compensation to you for our rather unexpected arrival, might I bestow upon you some consolation by telling you this: You are in no way at fault for what has occurred here. We are simply… awaiting someone who I have reason to believe will come here sooner or later."

"Who do you think will come here?" said Blitz, his expression betraying nothing. "I don't know anyone who would come here that would have scraped elbows with Security."

"Oh, come now," chided Goodwin. "Don't play coy. You are not in any immediate danger, so there is no reason to lie to us. While trying to protect your friends is admirable, I am afraid that your efforts are wasted, for I already know the name of the person—excuse me, _persons—_I seek. Simply remain calm and cooperative, and I assure you, this ordeal will be over in short order."

"What would someone as high as you in the chain of power have to do with anyone from the Satellite?!" tried Crow. "Why not send someone lesser to do the job?"

At this, Goodwin smiled thinly. "I have my reasons. There is a personal interest that I have with this man whom I seek. And I intend to make sure that that interest does not go unsatisfied… even if I have to take drastic measures to do it."

* * *

The first part of Yusei's plan is over and done with, even if there were some hitches in the process. However, for the most part, these hitches weren't anything that couldn't be readily dealt with, and Kalin was broken out of the Facility in due time, and now the trio of fugitives is en route to Martha's orphanage, where they intend to reacquire their Duel Runners and make for the city. However, Goodwin has finally intervened, causing an enormous setback in Yusei's plan by storming his rendezvous point and taking Martha and the others hostage! Can Yusei recover from this unexpected blow, or will Goodwin finally gain the advantage over our spiky-haired hero and detain him for good? Find out next time on Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's: Rewriting the Future!


End file.
